Halle Berry Kisses Lena Waithe On “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

The Chi creator Lena Waithe was the guest host on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday evening and it was the producer-writer-actress’s first time holding down such a gig. During the opening monologue, Waithe told Guillermo, Kimmel’s co-host, that she was “feeling a little nervous” and needed some words of encouragement. He said that they could press the “Berry Button” if it was something “berry important,” and when they did, actress Halle Berry came to the stage…naturally.

Rocking an Ol’ Dirty Bastard tank, Berry lavished Waithe with motivation. The lights dimmed and she said, “I know that you are a force of nature. You are a beautiful African American queen.” The crowd cheered as she continued, “Lena, tonight you are a writer, an actor, a producer, and tonight you are a late night comedian and you ’bout to slay. And you already winnin’ girl ’cause you are dressed way better than Jimmy ever was.”

Berry then asked if Waithe is good or if she needs something else. Waithe replies that she’s good, but Berry disagrees, grabs Waithe’s face and brings her in for a kiss. The host shared a clip of the moment on her Instagram page and a concerned commenter was ready to fight. Waithe has been engaged to film production executive Alana Mayo since 2017 and the commenter though Berry was being disrespectful. Waithe replied, “Alana gave me a pass.” 

Actress Issa Rae also weighed in by writing, “Uhhh WHAT?” while Janelle Monae couldn’t even find words as she just typed, “🗣🗣🗣🗣bgybugcgicgucug uf.” Famed director Ava DuVernay stated, “Wait. What’s. Going. On?!?! What is your LIIIIIIFE! Dude!” Check out the full encounter below.