Nearly a year and a half after actress Jenifer Lewis took a devastating fall in Africa, she’s opening up about the experience that caused her to fear for her life.
In a March 12 interview with GMA’s Robin Roberts, the “Black-ish” star recalled the terrifying experience during a November 2022 trip to the Serengeti that left her unable to walk and shared video of her amazing road to recovery.
Lewis’ trip was supposed to be a celebration after her eight-season run on the ABC sitcom “Black-ish” ended in April 2022. But while enjoying the sights in one of her favorite African destinations, things quickly took a scary turn.
“I was just taking in the fact that I was back in the Serengeti once again, and I’m walking, and all of a sudden – Boom! I had fallen ten feet into a dry ravine full of boulders and stones and sharp rocks. Robin, I fell,” Lewis told Roberts.
The actress said she fell over the deck in her hotel room, hitting her shoulder and right hip on the ground – which was 10 feet below. And although landing on a pile of rocks in the dark was scary, hearing a lion roar nearby took her panic to the next level. And in true comedic form, Lewis told Roberts she started thinking about the headlines that would come out if she was eaten alive.
“My last thought, because I am Jenifer Lewis, was, ‘What a headline!’ she laughed. “The King Ate the Queen. Pieces of Jenifer Lewis’ Body Being Flown Back to the States.”
Lewis said it was “hard to even take a big breath to scream” after her fall. But she eventually called out to a friend traveling with her in a nearby room. Thankfully, Doctors Without Borders found Lewis and airlifted her to Nairobi for treatment, which included 10 hours of surgery, three blood transfusions and six days in the ICU. When she returned to the United States, she endured months of rehabilitation – including relearning to walk.
The actress said she’s glad her story had a happy ending and hopes it can give others the strength to overcome any hardship.
“Whether it’s falling out of a relationship, falling out with your parents, falling down physically, any fall, I wanna tell the world, ‘Oh yes, you can get up,” she said.
Amen!