Oprah Winfrey was rushed to the hospital earlier this week and her good friend Gayle King is finally giving fans the details on what happened. Keep reading to learn more about what landed Oprah in the hospital.
Gayle King kicked off Oprah Winfrey’s ‘Oprah’s Book Club’ on CBS earlier this week. Oprah is usually in the studio, happy to introduce her own pick but it seems this time the media personality was missing in action.
However, her friend Gayle King was there to take over and explain her friend’s unexpected absence. She explained to author David Wroblewski, who was in the studio, why the media giant was not there herself to talk about her book of choice, Familiaris.
“I’m so glad you are here and I’m so sorry that Oprah can’t…,” King said to Wroblewski. “Yesterday, she said, ‘I’m gonna rally, I’m gonna rally.’ She had some kind of stomach flu where stuff was coming out of both ends.”
King’s co-hosts, Nate Burleson and Tony Dokoupil, both made an audible reaction to this piece of news.
“I won’t get too graphic,” King continued. “But needless to say, she ended up in the hospital [for] dehydration and had to get an IV. It was a very serious thing. She’s OK… she will be OK.”
King might have realized she gave too much information because she went on to talk of how Oprah would have loved to be there in person to celebrate the author herself.
“I hope she’s not mad at me for sharing that detail,” King sheepishly added. “I wanted to make it clear though it mattered to her and it really bothered her that she couldn’t be here today, but we will pick up the slack.”
King, Burleson, and Dokoupil conversed with the author, who had been previously selected by Oprah’s Book Club in 2008.
A statement on the Oprah Daily Instagram account that explained her absence from the show was also released following Gayle’s admission.
“@oprah was scheduled to go on @cbsmornings today to announce her latest @oprahsbookclub selection. When she came down with a stomach virus over the weekend, @gayleking—being the best friend she is—offered to make the announcement for her,” the caption read. “We are happy to share that after receiving an IV due to dehydration at the recommendation of her doctor, Oprah is feeling much better. We wish her a speedy recovery 🙏🏽.”
The caption was accompanied by an official statement from Oprah and her team. It read, “Ms. Winfrey is recovering following a stomach virus and received an IV due to dehydration at the recommendation of her doctor. She is resting and feeling better every day.”
Later on Tuesday, King executed a video call with Winfrey in which the latter clarified that she had not been hospitalized but rather received fluids at the emergency room.
“I was in the emergency room. I was so dehydrated,” Winfrey shared. Adding, “I had dry mouth and I couldn’t keep enough water down to get hydrated, so I went to the emergency room for that, and that’s just it.”
When asked how she was doing now, she said, “I’m not 100, but I’m on my way to 100.” She shared how appearing on CBS Mornings on Tuesday was out of the question for her since she was “too weak to get on a plane.”
In the caption of her post, King reiterated, “She was sidelined with a stomach virus that caused such dehydration that she went to the hospital to get an IV drip.”
“I thought I made that clear but next thing I know I’m surprised to see headlines that scream ‘Oprah’s hospitalized!’ (She was NOT!) And I’m bombarded with calls asking if Oprah is okay,” King clarified. “The answer is yes! And now let’s go straight to the source.”
