Jenifer Lewis Recalls Falling 10 Feet Off A Balcony In Africa: ‘I Was In Shock’
Actress Jenifer Lewis told the harrowing story of a devastating accident she endured while on vacation.
The 'Black-ish' star revealed the shocking incident where she sustained injuries after falling 10 feet from a balcony in Africa just two years ago.
During an interview with 'Good Morning America's' Robin Roberts, Lewis, 67, admitted that 2022 was her hardest year after the ABC series, where she played matriarch Ruby Johnson, ended and she ventured on a journey to enjoy her life.
"I was gonna retire and move back home. I conquered a dream," she told 'GMA' with a smile. She was optimistic about a trip to Africa that she and a friend planned.
After exploring nature in the African Serengeti on the "trip of a lifetime," she was set to stay at a lodge with an infinity pool by a deck overlooking the landscape.
"When the sun sets in the Serengeti, there are no streetlights — it is pitch black. I was escorted to the lodge, my room, but I wasn't given a tour. I should've been given a tour," she reiterates.
"I laid out my safari clothes, and I saw the infinity pool out on my deck, so I went out. 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 10 feet into a dry ravine full of boulders and stones and sharp rocks, Robin." Lewis stated. "I fell."
Lewis says she recalled there being a gap of space that wasn't sectioned off, nor was there any warning of a 10 foot drop. She claimed she was "in shock."
"My right hip took the impact, my shoulder went up against a stone. A lightning bolt went through my mind's eye right here. In pitch black, I didn't know I was falling. Nothing would move," she continued.
"So, I laid there, I said, 'Move your body, baby, come on Jenny, move your body.' Then, I called for my friend, Lori. It was hard to even take a big breath to scream," she said.
She also states matter-of-factly, that when Lori ran to get help, she heard the roar of a lion nearby.
"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," she joked, referring to what could happen if help hadn't arrived in time.
When Roberts, 63, asked Lewis why she'd held the story under wraps so long, she responded triumphantly, telling Roberts she didn't want people to know she had fallen until she could show you "how I got back up."
