Jennifer Hudson was hit in the face by a basketball during a New York Knicks game on March 4 in a courtside experience that was anything but common.
The 43-year-old titular talk show host and rapper beau Common were caught off guard when the ball flew into the crowd, with Knicks point guard Miles McBride rushing over to try to stop the ball from making contact with Hudson’s face, according to TNT footage making the rounds on social media.
Despite his best efforts, the 24-year-old athlete failed to save the day as the ball knocked Hudson’s glasses off her face. “Protect Jennifer Hudson!” said one commentator, while another remarked that the glasses “looked real expensive.”
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The Oscar-winning couple was a bit shaken, with 52-year-old Common shaking McBride’s hand as a reeling Hudson folded her glasses against her shirt and blinked and could be seen mouthing, “Wow,” as Common rubbed her shoulder.
The commentators determined that the Silo star, real name Lonnie Rashid Lynn, “tried” to shield Hudson.
Playback footage also shows both Hudson and Common bracing for the incoming impact of the ball.
The Bleacher Report’s tweet showing the incident, which took place before the Golden State Warriors beat the Knicks 114-102, has been viewed more than 2 million times on X alone.
The Dreamgirls star and Common confirmed their relationship in January 2024, though they were initially linked in 2022 while working on the film, Breathe. That year was a big one for Hudson, as it also solidified her EGOT status (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner) when she won the Tony for Best Musical as a producer for A Strange Loop.
—Jami Ganz, New York Daily News (TNS)
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