Heads-up, Jennifer!
Jennifer Hudson went from fan to participant while sitting courtside at Tuesday night’s New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden when she was bonked on the head by a deflected pass in the second quarter.
On top of that, her boyfriend Common accidentally bopped her in the face while trying to protect her from the ball, knocking off her glasses. At the same time, Knicks guard Miles McBride ran into her trying to pursue the loose ball.
“Protect Jennifer Hudson!!” TNT play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle said on the broadcast.
“Oh no, those look real expensive, too,” TNT analyst Greg Anthony said about her glasses.
The wild sequence occurred when McBride deflected a pass upcourt by the Golden State Warriors early in the second quarter. The redirected pass went right at Hudson, who was sitting courtside next to Common.
The ball appeared to glance off Hudson’s head an instant before Common flailed his arm out trying to stop it. He instead caught part of his girlfriend’s head with his elbow, sending her glasses tumbling. Common then comforted her as she recovered.
“And Common is making sure everybody’s OK,” Eagle said.
“Let me see what Common did,” Anthony said during the replay. “Did he protect her?”
“He tried,” Eagle said. “He actually banged the glasses.”
The startled EGOT winner tried to shake it off and compose herself as McBride checked to see if she was OK. She could be seen mouthing the word “Wow” as she processed what just happened.
“I don’t think Miles McBride is going to be invited on the ‘Jennifer Hudson Show,’” Eagle joked.
He then added, “And that is considered a Common foul.”
Hudson, 43, and Common, 52, have been a regular presence at Knicks home games since last season, including during New York’s playoff series against the Indiana Pacers.
Common spoke on TODAY in January 2024 about his budding relationship with Hudson. The two had hinted at their relationship when he appeared that month on her talk show.
