Michelle Pfeiffer is sporting quite the shiner after an incident on the pickleball court a few days ago.
She jokingly cautioned her Instagram followers about the risks associated with the sport and posted a series of photos on her Instagram account to show the extent of the injury.
“Stay Out Of The Kitchen”
In her warning, she highlighted the importance of staying clear of the designated “kitchen” area, where ball volleys aren’t permitted.
“WARNING,” she wrote. “Pickleball – stay out of the kitchen! Thank you, Less!”
The cause of her injury remains unclear.
In the shared images, a makeup-free Pfeiffer, aged 65, is seen donning braids and a hat while treating her eye with a substantial ice bag. The photos reveal her swollen right eye, with one close-up emphasizing the noticeable bruising on her eyelid.
Rather Badly Bruised
In the final photo, Pfeiffer appears with her right eye shut to give viewers a better look at the injury – her eyelid did indeed look really rather badly bruised.
Her Instagram post provoked responses from various celebrities. Julianne Moore remarked on avoiding the game altogether, while Alec Baldwin humorously commented on the apparent conflict between playing pickleball and selling beauty products.
Sympathy From Other Stars
Other stars like Rita Wilson, Naomi Watts, and Selma Blair extended their sympathies and well wishes for a speedy recovery.
Watts exclaimed, “Ouch!!”.
Julianne Moore replied, “That’s why I don’t play.”
“Oh no!!! Feel better,” said Rita Wilson.
Alec Baldwin’s comment, “Damn, can’t sell beauty products and play pickle, it seems.” got the witty response from Pfeiffer: “I still smell good,”
Ever the joker, Selma Blair remarked, “Oh, dear!! Eye am wishing you a speedy recovery.”
Pfeiffer told her makeup artist Brigitte Reiss-Andersen that she had her “work cut out” treating the bruise.
Michelle’s younger sister, Dedee Pfeiffer, commented on the post with strong arm emojis and wrote, “But she kept on playing…”
“Life is sweetened with risk!” Pfeiffer replied.
Addressing a follower’s concern in a separate thread, Pfeiffer reassured her fans by clarifying that the injury was “nothing serious.”
Savannah Guthrie
Pfeiffer’s incident isn’t an isolated one when it comes to celebrity pickleball injuries. Broadcast journalist Savannah Guthrie suffered a self-inflicted blow to her head with a paddle in August last year.
Despite the lump and the momentary discomfort, Guthrie found humor in the situation, using a bottle of wine to alleviate the swelling.
Reflecting on the incident, she found the embarrassment more painful than the injury itself, describing the inadvertent and surprising force behind the self-inflicted hit.
Rosé To The Rescue
“Have you ever seen anybody who’s hit their own head with a pickleball racquet? Well, now you have! That was me!”
She added, “Isn’t that horrendous, that lump? Let me tell you what I did was just put a nice bottle of Hampton Water Rosé right on it, and that really brought the swelling right down.”
She explained what happened, “The embarrassment hurt more than the injury.”
“My opponent hit the pickleball right toward me, and when I tried to hit it back, I whipped the racquet up toward my own forehead with such force I whacked myself on the head.
The lump appeared immediately and (was) humongous. It was an astonishing lump!”
Teddi Mellencamp
Actress and daughter of singing star John, Teddi Mellencamp, is another celeb who has bounced back from a pickleball injury. Mellencamp twisted her ankle while playing pickleball with her family back in 2021.
While sharing some photos of her on crutches, she said, “I gave 2020 the boot — and 2021 returned the favor!
“The silver lining: it’s called a ‘dancer’s fracture,’ so I’m basically a ballerina now. Pickle Ball: 1. Teddi: 0.”
