Black-ish star Jenifer Lewis, 67, admits she thought she was going to be eaten alive by a LION after she suffered a near-fatal 10-foot fall in the Serengeti - recalling fears her body would have to be 'flown back to the US in pieces'

Black-ish star Jenifer Lewis feared she was going to be eaten alive by a lion when she fell 10-foot into a ravine during a 'trip of a lifetime' to the Serengeti in Africa in November 2022.

The 67-year-old actress thought she had fallen to her death when she tumbled over the deck outside her hotel room in 'pitch black' and remembers her body hitting 'boulders, stones and sharp rocks' down below.

During an exclusive interview on Good Morning America, Jenifer told Robin Roberts that as she laid on the ground 'in shock', she heard a lion roar and started imagining being eaten alive and envisaged 'pieces' of her body 'being flown back to the States'.

Somehow, Jenifer managed to call out to her friend Lori - who was staying in a separate hotel room nearby - but admitted to 63-year-old Robin that it was 'hard to even take a big breath to scream'.

Black-ish star Jenifer Lewis feared she was going to be eaten alive by a lion when she fell 10-foot into a ravine during a vacation in Africa

Following the November 2022 incident, the actress ended up in hospital and was fighting for her life

The 67-year-old spoke exclusively about the terrifying experience to Good Morning America host Robin Roberts

Explaining that she was laying injured in the middle of the Serengeti, Jennifer said: 'There are wild animals, because when Lori shined her flashlight down there, she didn't know there was a Cape buffalo ten feet away. And when Lori ran to get help, I heard a lion roar.

'My last thought - because I am Jenifer Lewis - was, "what a headline!" she cackled, before continuing: '"The King ate the Queen... pieces of Jenifer Lewis' body is being flown back to the States", as host Robin looked on sympathetically.

As she recalled the night in question, Jenifer explained that she had been escorted to her lodge at the hotel claimed she 'wasn't given a tour' and feels she should have been given one.

'The sun set and when the sun sets in the Serengeti, there are no street lights, it is pitch black,' she said. '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 ten feet into a dry ravine full of boulders and stones and sharp rocks, Robin, I fell.'

Jenifer continued: 'There was a space that was not sectioned off and there was no sign that said: "Caution 10 feet drop," as Robin asked her what 'kind of pain' she was experiencing in that moment.

'Well, of course I was in shock. My right hip took the impact, my shoulder went up against the stone, a lightning bolt went through my mind's eye right here. In pitch black I didn't know I was falling and I said, "move your body, baby. Come on, Jenny, move".'

Jenifer, who played the role of Ruby Johnson in popular TV sitcom Black-ish from 2014 until 2022, described the past year as 'the hardest' and revealed to Robin that she kept her fall - and recovery - a secret because: 'I didn't want y'all to know I had fallen until I could show you how I got back up.'

Jenifer was on a 'trip of a lifetime' in the Serengeti when she experienced her life flashing before her eyes

Jenifer had walked out onto her balcony of her hotel lodge to admire the infinity pool and fell over the edge into a ravine

The TV star fell onto boulders and sharp rocks and recalls it was 'hard to even take a big breath to scream'

Jenifer endured a long road to recovery and described the past year as 'the hardest'

Robin explained to her co-hosts how her sit down interview with Jenifer came about at the end of last year.

'She needed that time for herself because people were like, "where's Aunt Jenny? Where's Aunt Jenny?"' Robin said, referring to Jenifer's private recovery.

'I mean she was not on social and it was Niecy Nash, end of last year I was getting ready for the holidays, Niecy called and said, "you need to talk to Jenifer Lewis, she's about to post this on social".

'And Niecy was like, "you can't just post something like this, you need to share it", and then she connected us to talk and I'm telling you, the special that we put together just makes you exhale, but it also makes you laugh because it's Jenifer Lewis.'

The full interview with Jenifer Lewis will air on ABC News Live at 8:30 pm ET and Hulu tonight.