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Noah Wyle, best known for his roles in ER and The Pitt, recently appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show, where he made headlines for skipping the show’s now-famous Spirit Tunnel — a tradition where guests dance their way down a backstage corridor while staff cheer and sing them on.
While the Spirit Tunnel has become a viral highlight for many, Wyle chose not to participate, citing a decades-old incident that left him traumatized. “Well, it would’ve triggered a bigger breakdown than I had on The Pitt two weeks ago,” Wyle explained when Hudson asked him why he avoided the dance. He went on to share a story from 1984, during a classmate’s bar mitzvah, when he attempted breakdancing to Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit.”
“I fancied myself a break dancer,” he said. “I went out and I heard Herbie Hancock’s ‘Rockit’ playing in front of all my classmates. And I attempted the worm and I got into some kind of inverted position and it all collapsed on me.” When he tried to “stick” the landing, he couldn’t — a moment that led him to opt out of public dancing for the next 41 years.
Wyle joked that if he had tried the tunnel, he would’ve walked down cringing and muttering “No, no, no.” “And nobody needs to see that,” he added. Hudson, however, reassured him, saying, “Only if you’re comfortable. We’re just happy to have you here.”
Despite skipping the tunnel, Wyle expressed some regret. “I’m embarrassed that I didn’t do the tunnel. I want to do the tunnel next time,” he said, before shaking Hudson’s hand and sealing a deal to take part in a bike race instead during his next appearance. “Okay, next time you come, if you don’t do the Spirit Tunnel, we at least have to race on bikes,” Hudson joked.
The show’s official Instagram shared a video of the moment, captioning it, “We’re giving Noah Wyle a hall pass for skipping our Spirit Tunnel.” Many viewers praised Hudson for respecting Wyle’s boundaries, with one comment reading, “Everyone doesn’t like this type of hyper-focused attention. Even actors.”
“I fancied myself a break dancer,” he said. “I went out and I heard Herbie Hancock’s ‘Rockit’ playing in front of all my classmates. And I attempted the worm and I got into some kind of inverted position and it all collapsed on me.” When he tried to “stick” the landing, he couldn’t — a moment that led him to opt out of public dancing for the next 41 years.
Wyle joked that if he had tried the tunnel, he would’ve walked down cringing and muttering “No, no, no.” “And nobody needs to see that,” he added. Hudson, however, reassured him, saying, “Only if you’re comfortable. We’re just happy to have you here.”
Despite skipping the tunnel, Wyle expressed some regret. “I’m embarrassed that I didn’t do the tunnel. I want to do the tunnel next time,” he said, before shaking Hudson’s hand and sealing a deal to take part in a bike race instead during his next appearance. “Okay, next time you come, if you don’t do the Spirit Tunnel, we at least have to race on bikes,” Hudson joked.
The show’s official Instagram shared a video of the moment, captioning it, “We’re giving Noah Wyle a hall pass for skipping our Spirit Tunnel.” Many viewers praised Hudson for respecting Wyle’s boundaries, with one comment reading, “Everyone doesn’t like this type of hyper-focused attention. Even actors.”
