Omari Hardwick Wasn’t About to Let Aaron Pierre’s ‘Mufasa’ Spirit Tunnel Dance Outdo His…But Who Did It Better??

"The Jennifer Hudson Show" staff remixed the theme song from "Power" for Hardwick's stroll.

โ€œThe Jennifer Hudson Showโ€ continues to welcome their famous guests with a fun twist. Before each celebrity makes their way to the stage, staff and crew clap, cheer, dance, and sing in the โ€œspirit tunnel,โ€ often recreating songs relevant to the guests.

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One of the most viral spirit tunnels featured Aaron Pierre back in December 2024. Fans couldnโ€™t hide their thirst โ€” so much so, the daytime talk show turned off the videoโ€™s comments on their social media pages. The staffโ€™s catchy and quirky chant, โ€œAaron, Pierre, thatโ€™s Mufasaaa!,โ€ is now a household saying.

Enter Omari Hardwick.

The โ€œNext Day Airโ€ actor took to the hype hallway where the showโ€™s staff remixed the theme song to โ€œPower,โ€ originally performed by Joe and 50 Cent on their 2014 track โ€œBig Rich Town.โ€

Hardwick, wearing a tangerine-colored suit and brown shoes, danced his way down the hall, waving his arms, clapping, and high-fiving staff. The video, posted on Wednesday (March 26) has garnered over 129,000 likes on Instagram as of this writing.

โ€œEeek not me getting a lil dance and twirl from Ghost!,โ€ one person wrote under Hudsonโ€™s show post. โ€œI mean at this point, can the spirit tunnel be nominated for an EMMY?,โ€ a second added, while a third user complimented, โ€œSomething about that ORAAANNNGE with melanin.โ€

https://twitter.com/_KelvinKimani/status/1905216169839112417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/Timmy_Dont_DoIt/status/1905116560101900458?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/HaterYouLose/status/1904974577949929837?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/footballguy82/status/1904977766128205868?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

โ€œThere is so much pressure walking down after Aaron Pierre,โ€ another person added. โ€œPut the shoes back neowโ€ฆ he gets a lil pass cuz he so fine tho,โ€ another Instagram user said, while another added: โ€œOk he looks good in his Suge Knight suit.โ€

The 51-year-old himself took to the comments, thanking the โ€œmultitalented J Hud & the @jenniferhudsonshow TEAMโ€ฆ.I appreciate the love & years of humbling fanship!! And for all of you fans steady or pettyโ€ฆ.considering that my job as an artist is to make you feelโ€ฆ.itโ€™s a blessing to make you feel some kinda way๐Ÿ™๐Ÿพ.โ€

Some compared the Hollywood heartthrobโ€™s appearance to Aaron Pierreโ€™s.

https://www.tiktok.com/@jenniferhudsonshow/video/7456941615916043551

In December, Pierre had the ladies going crazy, in addition to social media users who recreated his viral dance moves. The original TikTok, posted on Jan. 6, has over 6.2 million likes. Oh, and over 500,000 bookmarks.

https://twitter.com/clay_fink/status/1887945199013253522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Even Cleveland Brownsโ€™ quarterback Jameis Winston was inspired by Pierreโ€™s suave moves and recreated them in a hilarious TikTok.

Despite the thirst-trapping spirit tunnels that allows celebs to let loose before an interview, the trend is often called out for the amount of people, or lack thereof, participating depending on the guest.

Show guests including Latto, Usher, Michelle Obama, and John Legend had packed crowds for their walks through the tunnel. However, other guests like Khalid, Druski, and Big Sean have not had nearly as packed crowds for their introduction.

โ€œMichelleโ€™s was crazy damn near a fire hazard how many people showed up,โ€ one user wrote, while a second commented how they โ€œfelt bad when Tasha Cobbs came cause that hall was empttyyy.โ€

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