Noah Wyle turned down the famous “Jennifer Hudson Show” Spirit Tunnel ahead of his Tuesday interview — and the EGOT-winning talk show host made him answer for it first thing.
“You turned down the Spirit Tunnel. Tell me the story,” Hudson said at the top of the interview.
“Is that what you call it?” Wyle asked.
“Yes, we call it the Spirit Tunnel,” the host enthused.
The so-called Spirit Tunnel has been a topic of regular viral fame for “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” serving as a grand entrance for the day’s guests to be cheered and celebrated by series staffers as they walk down the hallway and into the studio for their interview. Often set to cheer squad-type songs, highlights have included social media hits with Gwen Stefani, SZA and Aaron Pierre.
Wyle, however, was too embarrassed to accept the attention, apparently still adapting to his own newfound viral fame. The star of “The Pitt” has been doing more press hits than we have seen from him in some time — while simultaneously being thirsted over on the internet — ahead Thursday’s Season 1 finale.
Watch the moment below:
We're giving Noah Wyle a hall pass for skipping our Spirit Tunnel
— The Jennifer Hudson Show (@JHudShow) April 8, 2025pic.twitter.com/PfgTksX9Uv
He told Hudson that the Spirit Tunnel would have “triggered a bigger breakdown than I had on the show two weeks ago if I had done that,” referencing his big Episode 13 arc.
“I’ll tell you a little story: The year is 1984, Louis Poseman’s bar mitzvah. I fancied myself a breakdancer. 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,” Wyle recounted by way of explanation. “And then I tried to stick it, and I didn’t stick it. And ever since then I’ve just opted out of the public dance.”
He added: “I’ve watched your show, I’ve watched people come down that hallway. I would’ve come down like this: ‘No! No! No! No!’ And nobody needs to see that.”
Hudson was genial and accepting of the guest’s boundary and said he can do it when he comes back — “only if you’re comfortable, we’re just happy to have you here.”
Behind-the-scenes footage released later Tuesday of Wyle exiting the “Jennifer Hudson Show” studio to rounds of applause from staffers, which he accepted graciously, if a little embarrassingly. He thanked everyone, gave heart hands, then ran off to his dressing room with a comedic scream.
Noah Wyle on The Jennifer Hudson Show.
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) April 8, 2025
pic.twitter.com/kW5sPYmXF3
As far as the internet attention he and his “Pitt” character Dr. Robby have been getting (Hudson shared some thirst tweets of some fans thanking him for the “unrealistic expectations about how hot my male doctors would be in my life”), Wyle, blushing, admitted, “It’s very flattering.”
