Ashley Judd Is Hospitalized After Suffering “Massive Catastrophic” Leg Injury

Ashley Judd is on the mend after a very scary accident. 

In an Instagram Live with The New York Times‘ Nicholas Kristof on Feb. 12, the Double Jeopardy actress revealed that she severely injured her leg during an excursion on the Congo rainforest when she tripped over a fallen tree in the dark.

She spoke from her hospital bed about how she was now in an “ICU trauma unit in beautiful South Africa, which has taken me in from the Congo, a country I deeply love which is not, unfortunately, equipped to deal with massive catastrophic injuries like I have had.” She explained that the experience further illuminated the privilege she held as a person of means visiting the Congo.

As she explained to Kristof, “The difference between a Congolese person and me is disaster insurance that allowed me 55 hours after my accident to get to an operating table in South Africa.” 

She detailed the “incredibly harrowing” experience, which “started with five hours of lying on the forest floor” until she was able to be evacuated. From there, she spent over an hour in a hammock being carried by her “Congolese brothers,” who were able to finally bring her back to camp. She spent the ordeal “howling like a wild animal” and biting down on a stick to try to alleviate some of the pain.