Perform your Truth with Jenifer Lewis

Summary

IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson

Episode: "Perform Your Truth with Jenifer Lewis"

Date: December 17, 2025
Podcast: IMO (In My Opinion)
Hosts: Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson
Guest: Jenifer Lewis ("The Mother of Black Hollywood")

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Episode Overview

This lively, heartfelt episode of IMO brings the legendary actress, singer, and activist Jenifer Lewis into conversation with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. Dubbed "the Mother of Black Hollywood," Jenifer opens up about her journey through trauma and triumph—touching on her mental health struggles, career setbacks and successes, sex addiction, and the near-fatal accident that inspired her latest one-woman show. The episode radiates with humor, wisdom, and raw honesty, offering actionable advice to listeners facing their own challenges and discrimination.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Living Authentically & Doing "The Work"

• Jenifer’s Happiness & Self-Acceptance
  • “I am happier than I have ever been in my life. I’m in my skin. I know who I am. I’m far from perfect... I just did the work. I went and took care of myself.” (Jennifer Lewis, 05:45–06:14)
• Therapy and Personal Growth
  • Jenifer shares her long journey in therapy after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder in her early 30s.
  • “I went twice a week for 20 years to therapy, and it was worth every second. Oh, I just love myself.” (Jennifer Lewis, 08:58–09:14)
  • Therapy enabled her to find happiness, which she describes as wanting for herself what she gave others through laughter.

2. Overcoming Trauma: Molestation and Its Impact

• Childhood Abuse and Confrontation
  • Jenifer describes being molested as a child by a trusted community figure and confronting him in adulthood.
    • “I was like, it ain’t that kind of call, motherfucker.” (Jennifer Lewis, 24:21)
    • The trauma fueled both her sex addiction and her drive—a constant seeking for validation and comfort.
    • “In seven seconds after he touched me, he took my entire life from me… Oh, I got it back.” (Jennifer Lewis, 24:59–25:28)
• Surviving Danger with Humor and Courage
  • Jenifer tells the harrowing tale of talking a would-be assailant out of assaulting her in her youth, using her wits and performance skills to escape. (27:19–28:44)

3. Bipolar Disorder, Mania, and Sex Addiction

• The Mask of Mania and Addiction
  • Mania contributed to her confidence and leadership roles but also manifested as chaos, impulsivity, and addiction.
  • “...the arrogance, the omnipotence, the delusions of grandeur came with the mania. You're unstoppable. Bipolar disorder ain't no joke.” (Jennifer Lewis, 20:53–20:58)
  • “I had the sex addiction in my 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and early 60s. And yesterday, 20 minutes ago. You missed it.” (Jennifer Lewis, 45:59)
• Process of Healing
  • Taking medication was initially difficult—she feared losing her creative "edge." Side effects (like losing her sex drive) prompted adjustments.
    • “I needed my edge... when I took the meds, my sexual desire went away. I wasn’t having any. You're just like, we can't do this.” (Jennifer Lewis, 41:07–41:36)
  • Journaling since middle school became both her therapy and the source material for her memoirs and shows.

4. Finding and Creating Opportunities in Show Business

• Career Beginnings and Self-Belief
  • Jenifer booked her first Broadway show 11 days after graduating college, powered by unshakable self-confidence.
    • “I had no fear in me... But when that camera comes into your face, you gotta tell the truth. And I didn’t quite know what the truth was.” (Jennifer Lewis, 31:48–32:57)
• Turning Adversity Into Art
  • When traditional opportunities slowed, she wrote, produced, and performed in her own one-woman shows.
    • “The phone didn’t ring, I created something. I was always on stage, girl. Nina Simone, Lena Horne…the greats came to see me.” (Jennifer Lewis, 33:03–33:53)

5. The Fall: Near-Death and Recovery

• Accident in the Serengeti
  • During a trip to Africa, Jenifer fell ten feet from her hotel deck into a pit filled with wild animals.
  • She recounts the incident—mixing humor and horror—including hearing a lion roar nearby and a near run-in with Cape buffalo (53:47–54:10).
  • “I fell 10ft from an unsecured deck off my hotel room into a pit of wild animals. And no, Anthony Anderson, I was not drunk.” (Jennifer Lewis, 52:37–53:07)
• Survival, Surgery, and Comeback
  • She endured 12 hours of surgery, six days in ICU, and over 13 months of rehab to recover.
    • “Anybody can fall…But how do you get up? How do we get up? I couldn’t walk for 13 months, Michelle. You see I’m walking, and I got the high kick back… The bitch is back.” (Jennifer Lewis, 61:37–63:05)

6. Life Advice: Passion, Resilience, and Knowing Yourself

• Advice to Listeners—Especially Young People
  • To a 23-year-old listener from Illinois: “There’s no time for despair. Nobody stopped me or kept me from all the horrors. But I say to you, have yours, because they will make you stronger... It’s right around the corner. You gotta get up.” (Jennifer Lewis, 65:26–66:53)
  • Michelle adds: “If she can hold on to the light that she knows she has. I believe that all of us are born knowing that you’ve got that light.” (Michelle Obama, 66:59–67:31)
• The Power of Passion
  • “People say, how do you find your passion? What makes you smile? What’s making you smile at this moment? That’s your passion.” (Jennifer Lewis, 68:02–68:53)
• Knowing Thyself
  • “You have only one weapon. One weapon. Know thyself. What are you gonna do when they come to the door? There’s nowhere to run… So go in here and straighten your spine... Sit up, stand up, get up.” (Jennifer Lewis, 69:04–70:13)

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On Living with Mental Illness
  “I never sat down a day in my life, but I got sat down.” (Jennifer Lewis, 10:11–10:15)

• On Survivor’s Resilience
  “When you look at death in the face, if you come back, you’re different because you ain't scared no more... I wasn't scared before, but now I'm unstoppable—but with love, and with grace and gratitude." (Jennifer Lewis, 63:32–64:06)

• On Joy and Aging
  “You gotta tell your kids they can be whatever they want.” (Jennifer Lewis, 15:22–15:28) "Now Diane Carroll, Lena Horne, and Eartha Kitt, they stayed on top for ages, but their looks never quit…Because Black don’t crack?” (Jennifer Lewis, 72:12–72:23; closes episode with her signature song)

• On Her Motivation and Mother’s Love
  “Because I wanted my mother to love me, Michelle." (Jennifer Lewis, 47:38–47:41)

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Timestamps for Notable Segments

• Jenifer describes her early struggles and therapy: 06:49–09:14
• Impact of bipolar disorder and addiction: 20:24–22:00
• Confronting her molester: 24:21–25:34
• Surviving a break-in in New York: 27:19–28:44
• Booking her first Broadway show and building her own career: 31:26–33:53
• Details of her fall in Africa and recovery: 51:47–54:10; 60:03–63:05
• Listener Q&A on resilience and advice to young people: 64:53–70:13
• Jenifer’s “Black Don’t Crack” song & closing banter: 72:12–74:12

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Final Takeaway

This episode distills the Jennifer Lewis philosophy of living out loud—unapologetically, courageously, and with enough hard-won wisdom to fill a Broadway house. Her stories are raw, candid, and often hilarious, but always underscored by deep lessons about resilience, mental health, self-love, and the importance of never giving up on yourself or your dreams.

Michelle Obama sums up the mood:
"It's been fun. It's been heartbreaking. It has been true." (Michelle Obama, 71:03–71:10)

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For those searching for strength, healing, and laughter, Jenifer Lewis delivers it all—on stage, off stage, and in every moment of her remarkable life.

Transcript

[Michelle Obama]

But I want to know. You know, you love sex, but you have never decided to settle down. Why? Why is sex.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I've been engaged.

[Michelle Obama]

Not that. That is tied together. That was.

[Jennifer Lewis]

No, I'm going to tell you right now. I had the sex addiction in my 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and early 60s. That's in the. And yesterday, 20 minutes ago, you missed it. So, anyway, listen, you gotta.

[Michelle Obama]

This episode is brought to you by Alloy Women's Health.

[Craig Robinson]

Howdy.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Hey, we are back.

[Michelle Obama]

We are back in studio, imo, with Craig and Michelle. What's going on, dude?

[Craig Robinson]

You know, I'm staying at an Airbnb. You know what?

[Michelle Obama]

I. You are a guest.

[Craig Robinson]

I am a guest. But what. You know what? I was thinking about the holidays because we're going to have people with us on the holidays and more than we can fit in our house.

[Michelle Obama]

Oh, you. You guys are gonna have a big.

[Craig Robinson]

Well, we're gonna have more than the people we can. More rooms in your house that we can accommodate. And I was just thinking what a wonderful idea it would be to get folks Airbnbs nearby.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Craig Robinson]

So that they don't have to go to a hotel.

[Michelle Obama]

And tis the season for Airbnb and.

[Craig Robinson]

Everybody can enjoy the holiday cheer without having to worry.

[Michelle Obama]

And then you can send them home and then you can be like, have breakfast and at your Airbnb. Don't come over here.

[Craig Robinson]

Well, I'm still gonna be hospitable.

[Michelle Obama]

Okay.

[Craig Robinson]

You know. Yeah.

[Michelle Obama]

And did you rent a car this time, or are you driving a Rivian?

[Craig Robinson]

No, no, I'm not driving a Rivian here. Although I would love to have my Rivian out here in the. In the wonderful la.

[Michelle Obama]

We're in la. There are a lot of Rivian owners in la. There are. That's because electric cars. Efficiency is key in this area.

[Craig Robinson]

And, you know, Rivian outf. Misha and I with R1s's, but I see a lot of R1ts out here, which I don't see many of those in the Midwest.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I am excited to get started because we got. We have a. Our guest today who I love dearly, and this will be the first time that I get to talk to her.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Talk like.

[Michelle Obama]

Because I have met Jennifer Lewis on several occasions, but it's always in passing. It's always, hi, Susan. It's good to see you.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And.

[Michelle Obama]

But we are going to have some conversation. We are with Jennifer Lewis, y'. All. The mother of Hollywood. She's about to come on. But it's not. Not yet. Jennifer.

[Craig Robinson]

So this is great. This is great because you've gotten to meet her. She's great. You've gotten to meet her, and I feel like I know her not through you, but just through all the body of work that she has done. It has been just. I mean.

[Michelle Obama]

All right, let's do the official intro.

[Craig Robinson]

So Jennifer Lewis is an actress, an author, and an activist, and she has appeared in over 68 movies and 650 episodic TV shows, four Broadway shows and concerts all over the world. And out of the 650 episodic TV, I wonder how many I've seen. I was probably 600 of the. 650.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's why she's the mother of Hollywood, because she has mothered her way through Hollywood on show after show.

[Craig Robinson]

And she is coming off of a tremendous recovery story that we're gonna talk to her about along with. I love to hear her origin story, but she lives to be of service. And her. She walked into this building and you could feel the energy.

[Michelle Obama]

Change the energy.

[Craig Robinson]

Just change the whole place. For the good.

[Michelle Obama]

For the good, by the way.

[Craig Robinson]

So now you can come out.

[Michelle Obama]

Everybody, Jennifer Lewis. Thank you.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Thank you for being here.

[Craig Robinson]

Thank you so much. It's so nice.

[Michelle Obama]

My brother, big brother, Craig.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, Lord help us.

[Michelle Obama]

The other half helped Jennifer with her chair. Be a gentleman.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Thank you, Craig.

[Craig Robinson]

Thank you.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Hi, everybody.

[Michelle Obama]

Hi, everybody.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, I'm so excited.

[Michelle Obama]

Welcome, welcome, welcome.

[Craig Robinson]

What do I call you? Jennifer.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Mrs. Lewis. You can call me Jennifer.

[Craig Robinson]

Okay.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I only have my assistant Call me Ms. Lewis. So we can keep pecking on her, right? Yeah, she's new.

[Michelle Obama]

Oh, my goodness, girl.

[Jennifer Lewis]

She came in the birthday and said I was laying up in the bed, you know, diva in the bed, you know, saying, I need to call this one and that one. And then I went off, I said, you know, when I was a child. And she said, Ms. Lewis, before you go into that side story, we've got four emails to do.

[Announcer]

Oh.

[Michelle Obama]

Oh.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I never knew they were side stories. She scared the shit out of me. I said, what? I said, is that what they are?

[Michelle Obama]

Is that what they are to you? Let me ask, how old is your assistant?

[Jennifer Lewis]

33, I think.

[Michelle Obama]

She's a baby.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And she is so efficient.

[Michelle Obama]

She seemed deficient.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I'm so grateful to have her, you know, because I'm an independent woman. I want to do it myself. But, honey, I turned 68.

[Michelle Obama]

It's like, have a little help, honey.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Mama need you to help. I'm so sick.

[Michelle Obama]

Well, it's good to see you. You are Looking fabulous.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I feel I am happier than I have ever been in my life.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I'm in my skin. I know who I am. Hmm. I'm far from perfect. Okay.

[Michelle Obama]

Maybe very close.

[Jennifer Lewis]

So close.

[Michelle Obama]

So close.

[Craig Robinson]

Oh, my girl.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Just two more inches. But I'm just happy because I did the work. I went and took care of myself.

[Michelle Obama]

When did you feel this? Because I'm 61 now and there, and I've talked about this a lot. There's something about a woman, a black woman in her 60s, where I feel like I am sitting in my wisdom and my confidence in a way that I just never. So it's starting for me. When did you feel that groundedness in yourself?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Well, you know, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Read about that when I was in my early 30s, and I wanted to enjoy the fruits of my labor. And I wasn't. You know, I came out with that, Michelle. I came out with hope. My whole childhood was, come on in here, Jenny. Come on, show us. And I was born with it. It was a gift. The gift of leadership, the gift of joy. My job, my entire life was to make people laugh. But I wasn't happy.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And I wanted on my face what I left with everybody else's face. I wanted to be happy.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

So because I went and stayed in therapy, I had to be raised.

[Michelle Obama]

And when did you start therapy in earnest?

[Jennifer Lewis]

I think I was 32.

[Michelle Obama]

Okay.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Right before the diagnosis AIDS, the AIDS epidemic had happened. And I had so many friends that died. And I had a nervous breakdown. That's what we used to call it.

[Michelle Obama]

And you said you knew more than 200 people who died.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Knew more than 200?

[Craig Robinson]

300.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You know, everybody's gay on Broadway. And those were my friends, and I was on Broadway at the time. And Craig and Michelle, they dropped like slimes. That was a pandemic. We were too young to see all that. We weren't prepared to experience that. So when my best friend and so many others just boom, boom, boom, I had what they call a nervous breakdown. I couldn't hold myself in. And a very good friend of mine who was a social worker, she looked at me, she said, jenny, you need help. I said, I don't need help. I'm Jennifer Lewis.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah. And life is good.

[Jennifer Lewis]

But guess what? I went twice a week for 20 years to therapy and to therapy, and it was worth every second. Oh, I just love myself.

[Craig Robinson]

We love you, too. We love you, too.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I'm sitting over here all the time.

[Michelle Obama]

You know, but it's. We do love you.

[Craig Robinson]

We do.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Ah, thank you. You know, I say at the end, I'm gonna read some of my one woman show to you. I say at the end of this show, the show is what is me telling everybody what that fall taught me, the recovery taught me.

[Michelle Obama]

And just so that we clarify, because we're gonna get into it, for those of you who don't know, was it two years? Has it three years ago this month? Three years on a trip. And we will discuss this, but I.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Do wanna say that the end of the show says to the world, I just told you what it taught me. But I want to thank everybody because it was you that caught me. Oh, that's why I'm still here.

[Craig Robinson]

Talk to them. Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

No, I like that.

[Michelle Obama]

Not everybody else taught you. But it wasn't that.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I never sat down a day in my life, but I got sat down.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Craig Robinson]

So let me go back to Misha's point about you getting therapy.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah. Y' all keep me on track.

[Craig Robinson]

I got so many stories and we want to hear as many of them as we can. But you said for the very first time when you were 32, you went to therapy anytime before that. Did you. Did it ever cross your mind?

[Jennifer Lewis]

I knew something was wrong.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Craig Robinson]

I knew something was wrong. Please.

[Jennifer Lewis]

All of my shows in New York, when I did clubs, the titles were Jennifer Lewis in the Cosmos, Jennifer Lewis Broke and Freaking Out, Jennifer Lewis on the Couch. I knew something was wrong. I was too manic. I couldn't gather my thoughts. And it was the dream. And that's what I want to expressed today to the people. It was the dream that sustained me. I had to get up, though. I was manic and depressed, and, baby, that depression was thick. I was sick. Yeah, but I didn't know it. Nobody knew it back then.

[Michelle Obama]

Nobody knew.

[Craig Robinson]

No.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Bipolar. I told somebody the other day, girl, I was tripolar. But it was the dream that sustained me. You've got to find a passion in this life. I had to get up and go to dance class. I had to get up and go to voice class. I had to get up.

[Michelle Obama]

And you pushed that getting up.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Because I had a dream and the vision was narrow. Go ahead.

[Michelle Obama]

Can we talk about where that dream came from? Can we talk about little Jennifer? Because, you know, I mean, you said you were always this. This person. You were born with the desire and the ability to bring joy to people. But you also say in your memoir that life was hard growing up.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah, it was. I'm gonna read something to you.

[Michelle Obama]

It's from your one Woman show. So let me just let people know.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Go ahead.

[Michelle Obama]

Jennifer Lewis is working on a one woman show and we are kind of workshopping here too. So you, you all listeners are going to get a treat because we're not, we're not just going to learn about Jennifer, but we're going to learn about how she processes and creates her. Her gift.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Bingo.

[Michelle Obama]

So one woman show is coming which is going to talk about the experience of the fall and what it taught you.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Absolutely.

[Michelle Obama]

So we are going to be referring in and out throughout this conversation.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Absolutely.

[Michelle Obama]

Things that are happening. So please.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And I'm excited because, you know, I am not a shy person. No, but this is a masterpiece.

[Michelle Obama]

It's a masterpiece.

[Jennifer Lewis]

This is my life's life.

[Michelle Obama]

And you are not modest. You are not shy or modest.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You know, there's enough people that are modest.

[Michelle Obama]

I know. For women.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Let them do that. So after I sing a song about you and some other divas in the world.

[Michelle Obama]

And I'm not shy either. I want to hear my song.

[Craig Robinson]

It says, well, if anybody cares, I'm shy.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, you're so cute.

[Michelle Obama]

We forgot he was here already. No, I'm just.

[Jennifer Lewis]

He's so cute.

[Craig Robinson]

Thank you.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Okay, here it is. I say after I sing this song, Black don't crack. I say to the audience, you know, I wasn't always this arrogant. I came from great poverty and experienced all the dysfunction that comes with it. I laid it all out in my memoir, the mother of black Hollywood. The addictions, molestation, abortions, childhood, all of it for the next generation to use and hopefully learn from the Gen Ws, X, Ys and Z's. Mostly Ys.

[Craig Robinson]

Wow.

[Michelle Obama]

Well, let's go to the beginning.

[Craig Robinson]

Yes.

[Michelle Obama]

Tell us about little Jennifer. You were the youngest of seven?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yes, ma'.

[Craig Robinson]

Am.

[Michelle Obama]

To a 26 year old mother.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yes, ma'.

[Craig Robinson]

Am.

[Michelle Obama]

In Missouri, a little bitty town. Tell us more.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I'm gonna tell you more because it's right here.

[Michelle Obama]

Okay.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I wrote this and my mother was alive when I wrote it. And she heard it. I'll just sing it down in these two rooms we called a house where we lived for three years. Mama was 26 with seven kids, but all alone with her tears. We were just too young to understand why my daddy left in 59. Not enough food, not enough clothes.

[Michelle Obama]

So how do you learn to dream in that environment? I mean, what is it that you see?

[Jennifer Lewis]

You know, Michelle, I like coming here.

[Michelle Obama]

We do know that there are kids that are crushed. We come in here from those circumstances. Yes.

[Jennifer Lewis]

It's the Parents that gotta bring em out. Yeah, you gotta tell your kids they can't. They can be whatever they want.

[Michelle Obama]

Did your mother do that for you? Even at her age and in her fear and her trauma, she saw it.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I think she was a little scared of it too.

[Michelle Obama]

I bet she was.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Although she wasn't scared of much. I sang my first solo in church when I was five years old. And from the reaction of the congregation, this wasn't a shout in church. Yes, but baby, when I opened my mouth, they stood up. My mother cried. I'd never seen her cry. The preacher was going crazy. I was standing there with my thumb in my mouth going, did I do that? I said, oh, this is life. And I never looked back. So the dream being the baby, my life was, see me, mama. Yes, I was the baby. You know, there was six ahead of me. See me. So my life went like this. See me, see me, see me.

[Michelle Obama]

Y' all better see me.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And then it came into this.

[Michelle Obama]

See me.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, you'll see me.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And then you see this position. Your arms will eventually get tired.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

So they went down. So maybe you don't need to be seen so much. Look in the mirror and find out who you are, little girl.

[Craig Robinson]

Amazon has everything for everyone on your list. So you can shop for everyone with Amazon last minute deals. So, Mish, what were some of your favorite holiday memories?

[Michelle Obama]

Well, when we were kids, the holidays were all about what we wished for.

[Craig Robinson]

Yes.

[Michelle Obama]

Right. We spent our time going through this list catalog. It was the wish book and we waited for it to come. And that catalog, the big thick catalog full of all the toys that you could ask for for Santa. And I think we spent months and months combing through that catalog.

[Craig Robinson]

And people should know it was a catalog that just had toys. It wasn't clothes, it wasn't appliances, but.

[Michelle Obama]

There were some special holiday things. Like you could get Christmas ornaments there. You could in the catalogs. So it was all holiday stuff.

[Craig Robinson]

It was holiday stuff.

[Michelle Obama]

It was a special double edition toy section.

[Craig Robinson]

Yes.

[Michelle Obama]

That was just magical to go through. But that's the beauty of being a kid. You're in the position of doing the wishing.

[Craig Robinson]

Yes.

[Michelle Obama]

But as we became adults and parents of our own, we learned that we were the wish granters when it came to the toys that Santa didn't buy. And that changed the whole memory of Christmas. Because then Christmas became standing in long lines. You know, being frustrated that you forgot the battery for the toys. You know, that's the other thing. You think that all these toys should come with the batteries, but they do not. And then at the last minute, you gotta rush out and stand in a long line. Or at least we did.

[Craig Robinson]

We did. Yeah. It was crazy. And the thing about Christmas back then is that if you happen to forget someone or forget something, you ended up in that long line.

[Michelle Obama]

And if you wanted to avoid the long line, then that person just didn't get anything.

[Craig Robinson]

But now Amazon has everything for everyone on your list. Like my kids and my wife, who wait until the very last second to tell me what they actually want. My wife, out of nowhere, drops hints about the latest tablet. I'm standing there thinking, really all. Now you tell me. And let's not forget. Every year it's the same story. We are approaching Christmas and suddenly we forgot to get our neighbors a little gift. What do you get your mailman? Simple. An Amazon gift card. Amazon's got me covered with their last minute deals. I can still save big on toys, electronics, beauty for the women in our life, and all of that good stuff. I don't even have to break a sweat running around the mall. Gifts show up right on time, wrapped up and ready to go under the tree. So this year, I'm not stressing. Amazon makes last minute shopping feel like I planned it weeks ago. And that, my friends, is a holiday miracle.

[Michelle Obama]

Amen.

[Craig Robinson]

Shop gifts for everyone with Amazon last minute deals.

[Michelle Obama]

Well, you as. As you would learn you had a lot going on in that fabulous mind of yours. Were there any indications when you were that young that you and I know bipolarism shows up later in life?

[Jennifer Lewis]

The mania made me. I was. I became a leader.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Captain of the cheerleading squad, president of my class. When I got to college, I didn't look at the cardboard. I didn't look at the cardboard to see if I had been cast. You knew you would have been cast. You needed me. See, the arrogance, the omnipotence, the delusions of grandeur came with the mania.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes. Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You're unstoppable. Bipolar disorder ain't no joke.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I would run down the streets of New York. Anybody that came to town to visit, I'd take them right down to the World Trade Center. And I had this one little spot where I would make them stand and look up. They were beautiful.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

God, they were beautiful. But I would stand down there with my crazy self and say to them, behold, the only thing bigger than me in this city. But then when I would be rageful and out of control, I wouldn't get the job because they would see talented, but no one put up with that.

[Michelle Obama]

She's a bit much. Just a bit slightly. Can you talk more about those times, those. Those. Those hard times? Because there's mania, there's deep depression, and there's a whole lot in between there.

[Jennifer Lewis]

The depression. You know, the sex addiction started in college.

[Michelle Obama]

And do you think it was tied to the molestation?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, for sure. Absolutely. You run around. Once somebody touch you like that.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You either withdraw and start eating everything you can see.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Or. You see, I had a friend that. She became an introvert. I became an outrovert.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

That's why I was shocked that he touched me.

[Michelle Obama]

Right.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Cause I was like, Jenny. I was like, quiet, I'm telling you.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah, you fool. But he didn't care, girl.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I confronted him.

[Michelle Obama]

What did you say? Tell us, please.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Well, I. When I started talking about the molestation in therapy, it all came back. And because he was a man of God and we had been taught to revere him. There's so many sick people out there saying, I got the power and only God can come through me and here. Come and let me touch you.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes. Mm.

[Jennifer Lewis]

So anyway.

[Michelle Obama]

You confronted him.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yes, I called him. I got drunk.

[Michelle Obama]

Mm.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I haven't had.

[Craig Robinson]

Wait, you got. How old were you when this confrontation happened?

[Jennifer Lewis]

In my early 30s.

[Michelle Obama]

Later. In my 30s.

[Craig Robinson]

Okay.

[Jennifer Lewis]

No, no, no. I didn't drink back then.

[Craig Robinson]

Okay.

[Michelle Obama]

She wasn't drinking at 30. She lived.

[Craig Robinson]

Still in shock.

[Jennifer Lewis]

No. We were coming from church.

[Craig Robinson]

Got it.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You know how choirs.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You visit each other. And I got to ride with the pastor, child. Anyway, I called him. There's a chapter in my book, my memoir, and it's titled It Ain't that Kind of Call, Motherfucker. He thought I got drunk. Cause it was hard to confront him. And he answered the phone, and I said, it's Jennifer. And he said, oh, Jennifer.

[Michelle Obama]

And you like, it ain't that kind of.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Absolutely. We're so proud you're on television, Jennifer. I said, it ain't that kind of call, motherfucker.

[Michelle Obama]

Did you say. Did you end it that way?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Just like that. And I asked him why he did that to me. Mm.

[Michelle Obama]

Girl.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Cause the question I asked him in the car before he pulled over and touched me. I said, pastor Herd, do you think I can be a star? In seven seconds after he touched me?

[Michelle Obama]

Mm.

[Jennifer Lewis]

He took my entire life from me. In seven seconds, he tried to kiss me. And he felt my breast, and I pushed him back. It was so. Oh, God. It was the worst. And he took God from me.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes, he did.

[Jennifer Lewis]

He took my mother from me. Yes. And he took my career in seven seconds. Oh, I got it back.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes, but he tried to snatch it from you.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yes, he did.

[Michelle Obama]

And what did he say?

[Jennifer Lewis]

And when I said to him in the confrontation, I said, why'd you do that? He said, well, I was just, you know, trying the guy. I said, shut the fuck.

[Michelle Obama]

What? He was just trying to what?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Trying to prepare me for what, you know, being a star would involve. Oh, yeah. So. Oh, my God, girl.

[Craig Robinson]

I went.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I cussed that man. Poor man. I cussed that man. I said, and if you hang up this phone, I will fly back to St. Louis and blow that fucking church up.

[Michelle Obama]

And he's still the head of the church.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, no, he's dead now. Oh, well, he's good in here.

[Michelle Obama]

During the time when you made the call, he was still.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yes.

[Michelle Obama]

So how did it feel for you to. Because that's one of the things.

[Jennifer Lewis]

It felt good. It did feel good. But, you know, they take everything when they touch you. Yeah, I got over it because, you know, I had another incident where a guy came into my apartment in New York and put a knife to my throat. For God's sake.

[Michelle Obama]

Just a break in.

[Jennifer Lewis]

No, he came in. Yeah. He saw I was in the. I was in the New York Post in a bikini. I was young. I was doing a show. I got great reviews. And he must have seen me in the paper. I never knew.

[Michelle Obama]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jennifer Lewis]

But he came into the. He said he had a package, and I had just ran a bath. And I used to put just two drops of peppermint oil in the hot water. Well, that day, my little puppy hit my arm. And a whole lot of peppermint oil went into this hot water. So when he came to the door and he. The peppermint oil girl messed him up.

[Craig Robinson]

Oh, Lord.

[Jennifer Lewis]

He couldn't even. He was like, take your clothes off. Wake her. I know, girl. That stupid fool. He was like. I was like, you came into the wrong apartment today, Craig. How can you believe it? Look, Craig.

[Craig Robinson]

He said we should not be.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Look, Craig, look. Now I'm all in dance class. Me and Loretta Devine. Me and Loretta Devine were taking dance class. Shirley, Ralph, all of us, you know, we were all in shape. We were skinny in our 20s. Cause, you know, we all did dream girls, but Jennifer Holiday got the part and. Hold on. So he's like, take your clothes off.

[Michelle Obama]

And I'm standing there like, what are we doing?

[Jennifer Lewis]

I wish I could say the word. You know what I want to say. I was like, huh? But yeah, it was horrible. And I ended up talking myself out of it. I told him that was medicine. I. I said, I'm sick. Oh, my God. Girl, it was a scene. It was the greatest performance of my life. You have to read the book. The whole. The details are in the book, but I talked myself out of it. I told him I was sick, that that was medicine he was smelling.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I said, so if.

[Michelle Obama]

Way to think on your feet.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, honey. Like I said, it was the greatest performance of my life. And escorted him out.

[Michelle Obama]

So I can thank you and be well.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah. I said, I'll help you, Jane.

[Michelle Obama]

Here's your knife, girl.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Here's your butter. And it was like a steak knife.

[Michelle Obama]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I was like, boy, you ain't gonna cut me today. And you ain't gonna rape me either.

[Michelle Obama]

Well, you know, to the extent that your mania helped you with that bravery.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I was unafraid of him. I wasn't afraid of him. I wasn't afraid of. Of New York City. I belonged there. The mania belonged in the city. I would walk down those streets, girls, so fast, I'd have a coat flinging behind me. A diva. It was a mask.

[Michelle Obama]

And you were in the perfect place to wear that mask. New York. You probably didn't even stand out.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Girl. People were crazy. Girl, it was the 80s.

[Michelle Obama]

It was the 80s. And here you are flying around, flying, singing to Empire State Building.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You know, when I had a show, there was a place called Tickets. You go get your Broadway tickets for a discount. You remember? I used to go over there.

[Craig Robinson]

All those.

[Jennifer Lewis]

All those tourists would be in line waiting for their tickets, and I'd go down the line. I lived right up the street on 55th Street. I'd go down there and do my hot kicks up and down the street.

[Michelle Obama]

I've seen those hot kicks.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Wait a minute, girl. Michelle. I'd go, come see my show. You don't want to see that shit.

[Michelle Obama]

I.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You come see me. Do you know, I was sold out.

[Michelle Obama]

They were like, yes, we going to see her. We'd like tickets to that.

[Jennifer Lewis]

But I was. I was out of control. Yeah, but what could not be denied? What's the talent?

[Michelle Obama]

Talent? Yeah. Oh, well, because guess what? People wouldn't put up with it if you weren't. It's a lot.

[Jennifer Lewis]

It was a lot. As it is right now.

[Michelle Obama]

I don't know.

[Jennifer Lewis]

My shrink is gonna. My shrink is gonna see this interview.

[Michelle Obama]

She said, my poor brother, he's just like, oh, my.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I'm sorry, pumpkin. I'm sorry, pumpkin.

[Craig Robinson]

This is not What I see on tv.

[Jennifer Lewis]

But, baby, I'm telling you right now, I got so many stories. And I want these young kids to go and take care of themselves. You go take care of yourself. Where's my closeup?

[Craig Robinson]

Right here.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You go take care of yourself.

[Michelle Obama]

That's right.

[Jennifer Lewis]

If something's wrong and you're depressed, come out of those dark rooms. You can do it.

[Michelle Obama]

Can we talk about the beginning of your career? Because you mentioned Sheryl Lee Rolfe and Loretta Devine and Dreamgirls. Was that your first big.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Well, I was hired.

[Craig Robinson]

Right quickly. When you first got to New York.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Honey, I got a job. I got my first Broadway show within 11 days of graduating from college.

[Michelle Obama]

And you know what? We are not surprised, because this person walks into New York and is like, it is mine. It's all mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine.

[Craig Robinson]

I think there's something to be said about. And without. You had to have some chutzpah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I had so much confidence. I had no fear in me. I went from Broadway show to Broadway show, and then when I got to Hollywood, I'd had the Broadway breakdown because of the AIDS epidemic, and I didn't know who I was.

[Craig Robinson]

Is that why you came to la?

[Jennifer Lewis]

For what reason?

[Craig Robinson]

Because you didn't know who you were and you had to get away?

[Jennifer Lewis]

I came to LA to be a star. Excuse me, I ain't care about la. I care about. No, I didn't know. I didn't know who I was until that camera came close. See, I had been trained in the theater to hit the back row and you can kind of fake your way through that. That was the diva, that was the mask. But when that camera comes into your face, you gotta tell the truth. And I didn't quite know what the truth was. And I'd get in those auditions and go, now listen, girl. They go, cut. Honey, you got it had to be. Now, listen, girl.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And I didn't know that comes from here.

[Michelle Obama]

So you struggled, probably for the first.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Time in the business. Yes, I did. Yes, it was the first time, because I had to find out who I was and how I could continue that passion, See if I wasn't working. But here's what I did, and I say this in a very famous interview. I created my own jobs, darling. That's why this is a masterpiece. Because I wrote my own one woman shows. The phone didn't ring. I created something. I was always on stage, girl. Nina Simone, Lena Horne, the greats came to see me. I'm telling you, Ruby Dee, they were all There because my shows became underground. Everybody. It was. I can't think of the word. It was almost. You knew it was something like a speakeasy.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes, yes.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You gotta go see Jennifer Lewis.

[Michelle Obama]

And this was all in Hollywood.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You were doing this in la?

[Michelle Obama]

Yes, in la. Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

La. Before the TV shows, like the people from Living In Living Color, they came to see the shows and they moved. They put some of my characters on In Living Color. So what was happening is the industry would come to these clubs to see me.

[Michelle Obama]

This new girl.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah. Was the new girl in town. She's the new girl in town. And. And there was the sex addiction.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, the sex addiction. Y' all had to have sex.

[Michelle Obama]

Oh, God.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Jesus. Right after the show, honey.

[Michelle Obama]

Right.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Something had to top that electrifying standing ovation. See, I didn't get standing ovations. My standing ovations were elect. People would jump up and I'd be almost instantly. So knowing that the depression that I had to drop from the high.

[Michelle Obama]

See.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Hola.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes.

[Announcer]

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[Michelle Obama]

And it took you some time too, because once you started taking the medication, you had to find your balance. Yes.

[Jennifer Lewis]

When you get on the meds now, if you. If you get on meds. I ain't pushing meds.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You find your story. It's what I did when I wait. When I finally agreed to do medication because I thought it was going to take my edge. I needed my edge. Was Jennifer lungs mania. When I took the meds the first time, I got side effects. Dry mouth and my sexual desire went away. I wasn't having any. You're just like, we can't do this.

[Craig Robinson]

That's the end of the mess.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah, we have to fix that. Yeah, we have to fix that. Hey.

[Michelle Obama]

So did you find that the work help you in your. Did you see the success? Did you see.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, girl. I started working. I got Fresh Prince. I got this one, I got that one as soon as I.

[Michelle Obama]

Mm.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Could just breathe. But it took a long time. It took a long time for me to get it. I remember the day I got it.

[Michelle Obama]

Talk about that.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Well, Loretta Devine was doing a show down in La Jolla, I think, and I went down there. You know, that's my girlfriend. We've known each other since I was 19 and I was With a girlfriend who was a shrink.

[Michelle Obama]

Mm.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And that night at her party, I got drinking. Those days of drinking. Got up on the table. Up on the table at her party.

[Michelle Obama]

Doesn't surprise me, Jennifer. I mean, I'm just like, that's a Tuesday. You said that.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Like, can you believe it?

[Michelle Obama]

I was like, wait a minute.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I wanna say something to you before I finish this. Do you know how funny you are, girl? You are right there with me.

[Michelle Obama]

Poor CR.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Craig is like. I ain't saying.

[Craig Robinson]

But you.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You right there with me. I'm glad. Good for you. I'm scared of you too. Michelle is going, why do you think you're late? Why do you think you slept with him? But where am I? What story? He goes on the table.

[Craig Robinson]

I'm paying attention. She's telling jokes. I'm paying attention.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You're on top of the table, you lunatic. Jesus. So. And I put a song, and I'm like. And I call everybody, you know, cuss everybody out. But in a play way.

[Michelle Obama]

Drunk.

[Craig Robinson]

Yeah, sure.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And naughty. It was Loretta's night. Oh, yeah. But my girlfriend, who was a shrink. Hmm. The next morning at breakfast, she said, oof. I'll never forget it. She said, jennifer, what's wrong with you? She said, what's wrong with you? I said, what? Oof. She said this. That was Loretta's party. I said, loretta. Loretta wanted me to sing. She said, jennifer, it was inappropriate what you did. She said, I don't think she appreciated it. See, it was that kind of thing.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I just didn't know. And the medication had to calm me down.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Now I just get on top of a tree.

[Michelle Obama]

Now Jennifer is calm.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

[Craig Robinson]

You talked about that you started getting Fresh Prince and then Living Color.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah. And Rock and. Oh, I just started going.

[Craig Robinson]

And were you able to enjoy that or.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes.

[Craig Robinson]

Okay. Can you talk about that?

[Jennifer Lewis]

But I was also having sex in the dressing room.

[Craig Robinson]

Can you talk about some of the fun times?

[Jennifer Lewis]

The addiction was still there.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Until I woke up one day and I actually called my therapist. She was on a train. I'll never forget this moment. It was after I addressed my behavior at Loretta Devine's party. And I called her. Cause I journaled.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

That's why the memoir's so good. Because I've been journaling. Yes. Since I was in seventh grade. And guess why, journal?

[Michelle Obama]

Why?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Because I knew I was gonna be a movie star one day and I would need my book. And you know what she said to me? She said, that's what saved you yeah, because you were journaling.

[Michelle Obama]

But I want to know. You know you love sex, but you have never decided to settle down. Why? Why is sex.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I've been engaged.

[Michelle Obama]

Not that that is tied together. That was.

[Jennifer Lewis]

No, I'm gonna tell you right now. I had the sex addiction in my 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and early 60s. Yesterday, 20 minutes ago, you missed it. So, anyway, listen, you gotta love me.

[Craig Robinson]

Oh, now that's in the show?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah, that's good, honey. Everything is in the show. Believe me, Girl, I didn't know it was an addiction. I thought everybody was doing everything every night. Yeah, I didn't know. But after the molestation. Yes, you run amok because you're looking for something that's not so ugly. But I didn't know where to look, so I looked everywhere. Okay. And because of the mania, I wasn't afraid to bring a stranger to my apartment.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah. And that's often.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You understand, coming from the street, that's often part of the lines, oh, well, I'll kick his ass.

[Michelle Obama]

But why you just never found the one?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Or did you go with Miguel?

[Michelle Obama]

Okay, was he the first?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah, he was the love of my life. He was the first one. I met him in college. He was a mathematician.

[Michelle Obama]

Why didn't you all get married?

[Jennifer Lewis]

He. I was too young. He asked me when I was, like, 19. Yeah, honey. I was like, baby, mama's going to be a star.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes, I know.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I don't want to get married, have no kids.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Because I wanted my mother to love me. Michelle.

[Michelle Obama]

Mm. Well, let's talk about.

[Craig Robinson]

Let's talk about the fall.

[Michelle Obama]

The fall.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Here it is in a nutshell. The itinerary on this vacation. Lori Ptoc had helped me write my second book, and she wouldn't let me pay her. I said, girl, then, come on, go to Africa.

[Michelle Obama]

Your dear friend. And Laurie is here.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Where is she? Come on in here, Lori. She's watching. I said, come on, go to Africa. I never travel with anybody. Lori wouldn't let me pay her. She said, you put money in a friendship, the friendship's over. I'm like, but you're. Oh, I don't want your money. She's a white woman of leisure. But anyway, you gotta love me. I say that in the show, too. And then we. It was safaree.

[Michelle Obama]

We've done that since a girl.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You see the face of God and.

[Michelle Obama]

Doing it during the Great Migration.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, well, I'm getting ready to tell you, yes. I was in the middle of that migration.

[Michelle Obama]

And that's the thing to point out. That being there at that time, the Serengeti is full of wildlife.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Millions, millions are there.

[Michelle Obama]

Pray lions, everything. All four. They're there in the peak season because there are times you can be in the Serengeti and it's empty. Right. The animals have moved on.

[Craig Robinson]

That's right.

[Michelle Obama]

So you had this incident in these.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Camps of the migration.

[Michelle Obama]

The animals are everywhere. And at nighttime is the time they're the most active.

[Jennifer Lewis]

So anyway, yes, they're out of the heat of the sun. So the next stop was supposed to be the Seychelles islands, but let's just say I never got to sell seashells by the seashore on the Seychelles.

[Michelle Obama]

That's in there, too.

[Jennifer Lewis]

So we checked in, girl, into the, you know, the four seasons in the Serengeti. Hot mess. You know, money don't ask me for nothing. So anyway, I love that line. Okay, girl, let me calm down. You making me laugh a lot. So Laurie checked out, went to her room. I ran out to the water hole to see the elephants. Oh, it was so majestic and prehistoric, you know, I had been before. But you're different when you go back, you see. So the sun went down. I stayed and watched the sunset. And we all know that when the sun goes down in the Serengeti, ain't no street lights. So my little young African butler escorted me to my room with a very large flashlight. You get it? Anyway. Oh, girl, I'm a mess in the show. Yeah, I said. And when he left, I undressed for bed.

[Michelle Obama]

Well, good night.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And I sleep.

[Michelle Obama]

At least you let him leave.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah, I let him go. You doing the whole show. I love you. I love you. So Lisa let him leave. And here I go after he left. Oh, he was a cutie patootie, but he was mad, all right. It's never stopped you before. But anyway, you love that line. So I took off all my clothes. Oh, you know, you've imagined it. Where is it? Yeah. And I'm about to submerge my soft, silky, sexy skin onto the silk sheets. But then I see an infinity pool out on the deck. So I thought a little colored girl from Kinloch, Missouri, would go out and take in the fact that she had returned to the motherland. So I'm just walking on the deck, la De Nas. Pitch black out in the savannah. And a little light, little bitty light, that if there had been a sign, I would have seen it. But I'm like, la dee, Daddy, daddy, daddy, da. 10ft down.

[Michelle Obama]

Totally unbraced, too, because that's like.

[Jennifer Lewis]

But thank God, because Had I known I was falling, I would have tightened and broke something. The right buttocks took the impact.

[Michelle Obama]

Mm.

[Jennifer Lewis]

The shoulder hit a stone. But the head. The shoulder protected the head. Girl, how I done hit my head, it was boulders and stone.

[Craig Robinson]

It had to be rocky, right?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, and that grass that the cat saw through, that ain't stalked.

[Michelle Obama]

No, it's not.

[Jennifer Lewis]

That was all in the back. Lori had to put.

[Craig Robinson]

Oh, Lord.

[Jennifer Lewis]

So I'm down there and I'm like. Pitch black.

[Michelle Obama]

And you didn't lose consciousness, which was.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I was in and out, in and out. Okay, so, girl, let me read this thing to you. It's brilliant. Hold on. Cause here it is. Let me just read it. All right, it says. Here it goes. I fell 10ft from an unsecured deck off my hotel room into a pit of wild animals. And no Anthony Anderson, I was not drunk. That's in the show. Is that good? That's so good. Isn't that good? Doctors Without Borders came to rescue me and air vaced me from Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya. I underwent a 12 hour surgery at Aga Khan University Hospital. Not Chaka Khan, but Aga Khan. So stupid. I had three blood transfusions, six nights in icu, and after I cussed out everybody in English and Swahili, they couldn't wait to ship my ass back to the States. Now from the helicopter, now, while I'm down on the ground, I mean, in.

[Michelle Obama]

One of your videos, there's a huge water buffalo roaming.

[Jennifer Lewis]

There was a caped buffalo just feet.

[Michelle Obama]

Away, feet away from him where you fell.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And there was a little. There's an antelope.

[Michelle Obama]

And these buffalo are vicious. Oh, girl, they are. You know, this isn't just, you know.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah, no, I was down there.

[Michelle Obama]

I mean, these are wild, very aggressive buffalo who will charge.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, they will charge now.

[Michelle Obama]

And you said you heard a lion roar?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, yes, the lion roared.

[Michelle Obama]

So you're sitting there alone, waiting for.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Help in the dark. The hippopotamus comes over and.

[Michelle Obama]

Is this for real?

[Jennifer Lewis]

No, it's not.

[Michelle Obama]

Okay. I'm just checking, you know, I mean, they're really.

[Craig Robinson]

My sister's getting in the way of the story here.

[Michelle Obama]

I'm sorry, all right? I just want to know.

[Jennifer Lewis]

It's hysterical.

[Michelle Obama]

Okay. All right.

[Jennifer Lewis]

What I've done, guys, if I've taken the biggest tragedy of my life, and I'm going to make you laugh.

[Craig Robinson]

Craig Robinson here. And as the holiday season comes closer, it's time to plan our holiday travel. And, you know, as our family gets older, it makes it harder for all of us to cram into one hotel room for an extended period of time. So we have six or seven adult sized people traveling simultaneously now that the kids are getting older. So we need a little more space. We need a little more freedom. That's why booking a stay on Airbnb makes so much sense for our family. You know, imagine heading to South Carolina with friends for a cozy fall weekend or taking the family to Orlando over the Thanksgiving break. Instead of being stuck in a hotel lobby or eating takeout food on the bed, which can be kind of fun. You've got a living room to gather in, a kitchen to cook these great holiday meals and make memories. You even could cook out outside, which I love doing in the fall weather. It makes the trip feel warmer, more personal, and way more memorable. It's those little things, more space, more privacy, and staying in the coolest parts of town that make an Airbnb trip better than a hotel. Welcome back to imo. We made it, folks. It's December. The holiday hustle's just starting to wind down, which means it's a perfect time to switch into New year, new moves mode. What's one big move you want to make in the new year? Whatever those big moves are, you need a plan. You need a strategy. You need a partner. You need Shopify. The end of the year is when you review your yearly numbers, clean up your strategies, and lay the foundation for what's next. They help you plan, launch, and grow so that the start of 2026 is way ahead of the game. With Shopify, you can keep track of everything from the palm of your hand. You can tag and sell your products globally and across all major social media platforms, making it possible to sell right where your customers are. Whether it's a side hustle or a storefront selling locally or globally. Shopify takes the guesswork out of starting a business. They have the tools to help you navigate whatever chaos the new year brings. Whether you're selling merch products or the next best idea, make sure you do it via [e-mail] IMO for $1. It's time to put that business idea into action and start the next chapter again. That's shopify.com IMO.

[Jennifer Lewis]

But then I heard them, the animals grazing and munching and crunching and you know, and we're having sex, girl. I got a joke in this show about.

[Michelle Obama]

I was about to say they were you doing it without me?

[Jennifer Lewis]

You are good, Michelle. Everything you say is in the show. And I'm trying to be Nice. And then I say, now, I couldn't see the animals, but I know what having sex sounds like.

[Michelle Obama]

Girl, I feel like I'm in your brain now.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I said that there were two little pink booty baby baboons that came and swung out of the tree. They said, if you gonna fall this close to our tree, you need to be properly groomed.

[Michelle Obama]

Like, let's help.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And then there's a little antelope in Tanzania. It's officially called a dik dik. D I K. D I k. Now you can make this up. What do you think I did with the dik dik? And I didn't have any clothes on, so the dick Dick was crazy. Listen here, Craig the dick Dick. No, no, no. I was the tossing. Look, it was animals. The dik dik was grazing nearby and he mistook, you know, my private area for grass and began to graze. I grabbed him by the back of his neck.

[Michelle Obama]

Dick, you didn't expect that, did you?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Listen here. I grabbed him by the back of his show. I grabbed a little dik dick by the back of his neck. I said, now you Listen to me, Mr. Dick. Dick. Under any other circumstances, I would enjoy what you're doing. Is that good?

[Michelle Obama]

You can make it up.

[Jennifer Lewis]

But anyway, Dr. Oroco, because I'm going to tell him to watch this. When I got to Cedars Sinai here in Los Angeles, after they brought me.

[Craig Robinson]

Home.

[Jennifer Lewis]

The doctors there saw the X rays. I fractured my acetabulum, by the way. And that's it is the. Here are the femur bones and here's the hip bone. There's a socket that holds the femur in the hip bone. Oof. So when my right buttocks hit, this is what happened. Oh, God. Don't ever fracture your acetabulum. It was horrible. So when we got to Nairobi and he said, you fractured your acetabulum. I said, I broke my head.

[Michelle Obama]

It's like the last thing.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And he says, we have to get you to the theater.

[Craig Robinson]

Mom. Mom.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I said, the theater? Broadway. Where? And he said, no, that's not that theater. The room we perform the surgeries in, Ms. Lewis, is called the theater. I said, well, then get me to the thing. God, hot mess. It's all in the show. But they did. They did a 12 hour surgery. I didn't call my family, Michelle. What were they gonna do, fly down there?

[Michelle Obama]

When did you tell them? When did they know?

[Jennifer Lewis]

I told them about three weeks after. I couldn't, you know.

[Michelle Obama]

Well, you talked about that. Because I shared that with Craig, when I heard you say that you needed all of your energy for healing, when.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I came out of that first MRI or X ray, whatever it was, and the gurney rounded a corner, I said to myself, you ain't telling nobody. You gonna need all of you. And didn't Nobody push you, Ms. Lewis. You pushed yourself. And now you get up. Mm. And I didn't want none of y' all to know I had fallen and no one else until I was able to tell you how I got up. I had to wait a year and a half before I called Robin Roberts. I had to be able to tell y' all how I got up. Anybody can fall. You can fall out of love, fall out with your parents, fall on the ground. But how do you get up? How do we get up? I couldn't separate my knees for four months. Talk about karma. I know you were coming in, girl.

[Michelle Obama]

No, no.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You were coming in. I couldn't walk for 13 months, Michelle. You see I'm walking, and I got the high kickback. Oh, you see that?

[Craig Robinson]

There you go.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Where's that? I want a good angle.

[Michelle Obama]

That's.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You see that? For a girl that could not separate her niece. She's back, y'.

[Craig Robinson]

All.

[Jennifer Lewis]

The bitch is back. That's right.

[Michelle Obama]

No.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And that might be the name of the show, but I'm very excited. I'm very happy. I'm very happy in my life because I didn't know how not to come back.

[Craig Robinson]

We try to help our listeners with your stories and the stories that we have on here, and you've been doing.

[Michelle Obama]

That throughout this entire conversation.

[Craig Robinson]

You have really bestowed on us a lot.

[Jennifer Lewis]

You know, guys, I've had a lot of energy. I shouldn't have drank this coffee. My shrink's gonna kill me. But listen, when you look at death in the face, if you come back, you're different because you ain't scared no more. I wasn't scared that scared before, but now I'm unstoppable.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes.

[Jennifer Lewis]

But with love. Yes. And with grace and gratitude, I filled every. I took an imaginary water hose and filled every room in my house with liquid gratitude and swam in it throughout that physical therapy. Yes. You gotta hold on to life. You gotta know something's coming. Be ye ready.

[Michelle Obama]

Well, we have a listener question, and I think it sort of speaks to. We have a young woman who is asking for advice, and Lynn from Illinois. Let's hear what.

[Craig Robinson]

Let's hear a question from Lynn.

[Michelle Obama]

Her question.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Hey, lynn. Girl.

[Michelle Obama]

At 23, I sometimes feel like I.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Climb forward only to fall back to rock bottom, carrying burdens and responsibilities heavier than most my age because of where I come from. How can high achieving young people from disadvantaged backgrounds keep finding the strength and hope to chase their dreams when life.

[Michelle Obama]

Feels overwhelming and the systems feel like barriers?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Lynn, my love for people is tough love as it is for myself. You might have heard at the beginning of this conversation, you heard me say, there's no time for despair. Nobody stopped me or kept me from all the horrors that I experienced in life. But I say to you, have yours. Have them, because they will make you stronger. They will give you courage. Life is hard, baby. That's what life is. It's lesson after lesson after lesson. And if you hold on, I promise you, I give you my word. And that's a word, darling. It's right around the corner. It's right around the corner. You gotta get up.

[Michelle Obama]

Well, and it starts there, like you said, it's the. The belief in herself.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yes.

[Michelle Obama]

You know, an understanding that, you know, she's gonna run into people who don't believe, who don't have her best interests at heart. But in the end, all of that is noise. If she can hold on to the light that she knows she has. I mean, just like Jennifer said, she was born knowing that she had a light, a gift. I believe that all of us are born knowing that you've got that light. Yeah, it's there. No one.

[Jennifer Lewis]

It's there. Nobody. Everybody was given. We're all God's babies. Whatever that means to you, you keep that light on. Nobody's better or worse than you. The day I became a true star was the day I realized everybody was one.

[Michelle Obama]

And you also talked about the importance of having a dream, a passion. A passion.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And people say, how do you find your passion? What makes you smile? What in a day, if you're walking around not laugh. Laughing and smiling is two different things. You can't fake a. You can't fake a smile. You can fake some laughter, but not a smile. People who go, nuh. You can see that, you know they.

[Craig Robinson]

Full of shit, right?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Come on, bitch, please.

[Michelle Obama]

Anyway, nasty smile, right?

[Craig Robinson]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

What made you smile yesterday? But more important, what's making you smile at this moment? Hmm? That's your passion.

[Michelle Obama]

And that's part of the journaling process too.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Absolutely.

[Michelle Obama]

Because if you're writing down your experiences, you know, and if you're paying attention. Because writing it down means you're paying attention.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah. And the other thing, one other thing I say is, and especially in these days, right now, what we're living in you have only one weapon. There's one. One weapon. Know thyself. What are you gonna do when they come to the door and it's coming to the door? What are you gonna do? You gonna run? There's nowhere to run. I tried to run, and I got money to run. But you meet yourself. You will meet yourself when you get there. So there's no running. So go in here. Go in here and straighten your spine. You sit up. I mean, you walk in a room, you hold your head up. Yes. Sit up, stand up, get up. You can have despair for two minutes. And get up. Go on. Craig, Craig, Craig.

[Craig Robinson]

You talk too much.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I am.

[Craig Robinson]

I just want to thank you for the wisdom.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I didn't get to say nothing.

[Craig Robinson]

No, that's okay. Hey, listen, I get to say no more. No, you are welcome back here all the time. And she is laughing because she talks too much.

[Jennifer Lewis]

I love it. But when she talk. You know what? And that's another thing about you and you. I've watched the show. Everything y' all say. Ain't no frivolity going on. Ain't no, like, some dumb shit. It's like they said something. That's a word. All right, I'll tune in next time.

[Craig Robinson]

Well, thank you. I mean, it's really nice of you.

[Michelle Obama]

This has been fun.

[Craig Robinson]

Yes.

[Michelle Obama]

It's been heartbreaking. It has been true.

[Craig Robinson]

It's been entertaining.

[Michelle Obama]

Yes, yes. Yeah, we're part of the audience.

[Jennifer Lewis]

My shrink is gonna say, did you take your medication, you lunatic? That was Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. Why didn't you take this? Extra meds?

[Michelle Obama]

But this is what IMO is about. You know, it's. You know, it's like. And I said at the outset, we've met on several occasions, but this is the beginning of knowing. Okay, I do still want to hear. But before we. Before we go, I want to hear my song. Which one?

[Jennifer Lewis]

Okay, here it is. It's so good. It's so good. This is the best song. There it is. And it goes a little bit like this. Now, don't clap, because I'll go off rhythm. Because I'm just. I've written some people. Cause you got. Baby, when the white people chime in on the rhythm, I want you to know something.

[Craig Robinson]

Now cut this part out. We want to keep our white audience.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Listen, I love my white people.

[Craig Robinson]

I do.

[Jennifer Lewis]

But y' all just. When we start doing things. Just sit still. Now, there's Ms. Diane Carroll, Lena Horne, and Eartha Kitt. They stayed on top for ages, but their looks never quit. Now when white women get older, their skin gets creased in line. But because of my race, look at my face. Soft as the babies behind. Because black don't crack? I tell you black don't cry. Now Cardi B and Beyonce certainly know how to make a buck? But being sued for fights or on Grammy nights? They don't need no nip and tuck. Da na na na na. Na. Now Harriet's got her railroad, Sojourner's got her troops. So Kamala Harris and Jasmine Crockett could be a choice at the voting booth? Oprah Winfrey's got her billions and Michelle's got Obama? And I still look good out in Hollywood playing everybody's mama. I tell you don't cry. So white girls get your facelifts to your foreheads on your back. Cause I'll be having fun out in the sun? Cause baby black don't woo. And then Chaka Khan, That's the orchestra going.

[Michelle Obama]

Shaka Khan, girl gotta love it. All right, we. That wait, that one.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Yeah.

[Michelle Obama]

Woo.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Woo.

[Michelle Obama]

Yeah.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Jennifer Lewis, Hot mess we are.

[Michelle Obama]

Stay tuned, Staying tuned for that one woman show.

[Craig Robinson]

I will be right there.

[Michelle Obama]

Thank you.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Oh, I hope I will be right there. Love you.

[Michelle Obama]

Thank you. Thank you so much for being here, for sharing, and thank you for doing the work. All right.

[Jennifer Lewis]

And Craig, don't talk so much next time. I didn't enjoy this because I didn't get a word.

[Michelle Obama]

No.

[Jennifer Lewis]

Hey, everybody, it's Rob Lowe here, if you haven't heard. I have a podcast that's called Literally with Rob Lowe. And basically it's conversations I've had that really make you feel like you're pulling up a chair at an intimate dinner between myself and people that I admire, like Aaron Sorkin or Tiffany Haddish, Demi Moore, Chris Pratt, Michael J. Fox. There are new episodes out every Thursday, so subscribe, please, and listen wherever you get your podcasts.