Lena Waithe, 35, stepped in as a guest host for Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 22, but that wasn’t the only shake-up to the show. It was The Chi creator’s first time doing a late night hosting gig, so she admitted to “feeling a little nervous” and needing “some words of encouragement.” Jimmy Kimmel’s “security” man had a solution: the Berry Button, for when you need something “berry important.” He pressed the red button and boom, Halle Berry, 52, popped out on stage. She hyped up Lena with affirmations like “you are a force of a nature” and “you are a beautiful African American queen,” and at the end of her string of compliments, she asked, “You good or you need something else?”
Lena said she was good, but Halle decided the Master of None star needed “something else.” And that’s when the magical moment happened — the John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum star pulled in Lena for a long kiss. For what was supposedly a rehearsed skit, Lena sounded just as shocked as the audience. At the end of the kiss, Lena said “Wow” — as anyone would if Halle spontaneously kissed them.
After the show, Lena shared footage of the kiss to her Instagram and sex educator Ericka Hart had a concern: Lena has a fiancée! “Wayment! she know you gotta girl??? I’m ready to fight!!!!!! Halle who!???” Ericka commented, referring to film production executive Alana Mayo, who became engaged to Lena during Thanksgiving in 2017. Lena simply replied, “Alana gave me a pass.” Cool fiancée!
Lena and Halle are not strangers to one another, however. Halle worked as an executive producer on the BET television series Boomerang, a spinoff to the actress’ 1992 film with Eddie Murphy that Lena co-created with Ben Cory Jones.