Aaron Pierre Reacts to Jennifer Hudson Turning Off Comments on His Spirit Tunnel Clip

After learning that Jennifer Hudson had to turn off the comments on his viral spirit tunnel video because it was “too hot for y’all to handle,” Aaron Pierre was nearly left speechless.

“Did she?” the Mufasa: The Lion King star, 30, said after PEOPLE revealed the Jennifer Hudson Show host’s decision while chatting at the American Black Film Festival Honors on Monday, Feb. 17.

“Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard that and I don’t know what to say,” Pierre said with a laugh at the annual awards season gala, held at Los Angeles’ SLS Hotel, where he was being honored with the Rising Star Award.

But at the end of the day, “it’s all love,” the actor, who voices Mufasa in The Lion King prequel, told PEOPLE of the internet’s enthusiasm for him — and particularly, his viral clip from December.

“And I really believe it’s all very joyful,” he continued. “I receive that and I’m grateful for that. You know, it’s a special thing. So, thank you.”

The spirit tunnel tradition consists of “two lines of people hyping up the guest with chants and dance moves before they hit the stage,” and was “inspired by how much fun JHud has,” the talk show’s website explains.

Stars who stop by the show and participate in the tradition have led to several viral moments — PEOPLE ranked 10 of the best walks here — but Pierre’s was the first that caused such a frenzy on TikTok that comments had to go.

In his tunnel clip, Pierre smiled and rocked his hips while synchronizing his footsteps to the beat of the backstage member’s handclaps as they sang him a custom song: “Aaron Pierre, that’s Mufasa.”

He also gave each person a high-five and turned before reaching the end of the hallway to tell the group, “Thank you!”

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While reacting to several of the Jennifer Hudson Show’s most memorable spirit tunnel clips — including Pierre’s — on her show earlier this month, Hudson said that the Old actor’s walk started a “frenzy,” and marked the “first time” comments had to be shut down.

“He took over,” the host said of Pierre, adding that his “spirit tunnel was the first time we actually had to turn off the comments on our social media.”

“This is a happy place y’all,” she said, “because it turns out he was too hot for all y’all to handle.”

The talk show host also said she’s “never seen so many recreations of the spirit tunnel,” before demonstrating by showing the audience several clips, including a recreation done by The Color Purple actress Phylicia Pearl Mpasi that left the crowd in stitches.

“This thing has gotten out of hand, okay,” she said after showing the clip, adding that “you can’t tell [Mpasi] she wasn’t here that day.”