Jenifer Lewis Speaks Out: My Fight for Life After Africa Fall!
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“Black-ish” actress Jenifer Lewis had the “hold my drink” moment of the year in an utterly jaw-dropping way that felt more like a scene from a Hollywood action movie than a tranquil African retreat.
Imagine this: you could be enjoying the beauty of the Serengeti in one moment, or perhaps you’re celebrating a great season wrap in another, and then all of a sudden you’re off your balcony, accidentally doing an acrobatic dive.
Lewis found herself plunging a terrifying ten feet into the darkness in what can only be characterized as a story twist no writer could dream up.
.@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: "In pitch black I didn't know I was falling."
Jenifer Lewis opens up to @RobinRoberts about a near-fatal fall she took while on her dream vacation. See more tonight at 8:30pm ET on @ABCNewsLive and @Hulu. pic.twitter.com/oSMAjsoXog
— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 12, 2024
This was a gravity-driven freefall into the darkness, not a leisurely step into the pool. It started out pleasantly enough, Lewis’s holiday turned survival story.
Following a season of drama and humor on “Black-ish,” she took off for Africa, a continent full of adventures, from the gentle giants of Rwanda to the majestic Table Mountain in Cape Town.
But the setting for our action is the Serengeti, where the earth meets the sky. Lewis came into a different kind of predator in an environment where one would anticipate lions to prowl and elephants to trumpet: architectural error.
Alright, let’s prepare: Lewis overlooked one small detail—a yawning gulf that awaited her—likely believing she could stroll from her suite to an infinity pool with the elegance of a television celebrity.
She did it in the darkness, with not a single cautionary note in sight (since, really, who would bother to bring up such petty details?). I mean, not into the swimming pool, but into an open casting call for the part of “person who falls dramatically.”
The aftermath reads like a scene from a high-stakes drama. While in excruciating pain, our star experienced a flash of lightning-fast suffering and a dawning knowledge that she might not survive this.
“I was falling in the dark and didn’t realize it.” She recalled that nothing would move. She’s trying to push herself with “Move your body, baby,” which is a little ironic.
As though mere effort could overcome the laws of physics that had just crashed down on her, Jenny was told to “come on, move your body.”
However, the drama doesn’t stop there. Not only was the fall dangerous, but there was actual danger waiting in the shadows. Wild creatures came to investigate, including a Cape buffalo that appeared to think Lewis was a new kind of amusement.
This was not what she had expected to be a meet and greet. Things could have quickly escalated into a devastating case of “When Vacations Attack.” Lewis is now prepared to tell her story after a year of recuperation, hopefully with a mix of humor and a renewed appreciation for the significance of lighting and signs in building design.
Even in the most beautiful environments, gravity is still unabated, as her story—dramatic as it is—emphatically illustrates. That’s it, people—a story of tenacity, an unanticipated journey, and a sobering warning that, occasionally, the worst dangers aren’t those that are hidden in plain sight—or, as in this case, completely invisible.
We’re proud of Jenifer Lewis’s recuperation and eager to see how this episode fits into your already amazing backlog of tales. So let’s just stick to planned falls going forward, shall we?
