Aaron Pierre’s ‘Jennifer Hudson Show’ Spirit Tunnel Shuffle Goes Viral ArticlePure

Aaron Pierre’s ‘Jennifer Hudson Show’ Spirit Tunnel Shuffle Goes Viral ArticlePure

Aaron Pierre knows how to turn any room into a party.

Earlier this week, The Jennifer Hudson Show released a YouTube video of the actor’s spirit tunnel dance from his appearance on the show in early December. He stopped by to promote Mufasa: The Lion King.

On its website, the talk show states that the spirit tunnel tradition, which consists of “two lines of people hyping up the guest with chants and dance moves before they hit the stage,” was “inspired by how much fun JHud has.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Pierre, 30, who voices Mufasa in The Lion King prequel that hit theaters in late December, was happy to be greeted backstage as he began his shuffle through the talk show’s hallway, smiling from ear to ear.

Wearing black pants, a blue T-shirt, and a matching leather jacket, Pierre rocked his hips as he synchronized every footstep to the beat of the backstage member’s handclaps as they sang, “Aaron Pierre, that’s Mufasa.”

While moving his arms with his body, he gave each person a high-five and turned before reaching the end of the hallway and telling the group, “Thank you!”

Aaron Pierre appears on ‘The Jennifer Hudson Show’.

The Jennifer Hudson Show


Various fans complimented his dance moves in the comment section of the clip.

“He understood the assignment! ??,” one person wrote.

“Gosh, the way he got on the floor with them, it was so beautiful; it was as if they had met before. What a humble man!” wrote another.

It’s no surprise that Pierre was excited to appear on the show to promote Mufasa: The Lion King as he told PEOPLE in August that he feels a personal “connection” to the “journey” aspect of Mufasa in the film.

Aaron Pierre attends the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ on December 09, 2024.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic


“What’s really special about Mufasa: The Lion King is that we get to see his childhood, and we get to see him discovering himself from this adolescent cub to this grown lion,” he said. “There’s something really special about that. It allows the qualities of Mufasa to feel tangible, accessible and within reach.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer??, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Mufasa: The Lion King is in theaters now.