Oprah Winfrey’s good friend Gayle King went into graphic detail to explain why a serious “stomach thing” prevented the media titan from making a scheduled appearance on “CBS Mornings” Tuesday.
King said Winfrey was hospitalized with the “stomach thing,” which she said was “a stomach flu,” Page Six reported.
“She had some kind of stomach thing — stomach flu — stuff was coming out of both ends,” King explained on her morning news show, per TMZ. King then said she wouldn’t “get too graphic” about her friend suffering simultaneous vomiting and diarrhea — even though she kind of did.
Talking about her best friend’s recent troubles got Oprah WInfrey emotional. Pictured here, Gayle King and Oprah Winfrey attend an award luncheon on March 6, 2018 in New York City.(Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
“Needless to say, she ended up in the hospital, dehydration, had to get an IV, it was a very serious thing,” King said.
Winfrey’s hospitalization comes fives months after the 70-year-old talk-show personality admitted to having used an unspecified weight-loss medication, similar to Ozempic, to “manage” her weight and to “stay healthy.”
But Winfrey’s rep echoed King in insisting that her friend’s recent hospitalization was due to a stomach flu, Page Six reported. The spokesperson also said that Winfrey received an IV due to hydration and is “resting and feeling better every day.”
Winfrey was set to introduce author David Wroblewski, whose novel “Familiaris” is the latest pick for her book club, Page Six reported. King said she hoped her friend was “not mad at me for sharing” the gory details. King felt she had to reveal some of the details in order to “make clear that (the book) matters to her and it really bothered her that she couldn’t be here today. She so, so loved this book.”
Perhaps King offered up the “stomach flu” explanation because she and Winfrey expected that some people would question whether her weight-loss medication was somehow involved.
Last October, CNN reported on a new study that suggested that people taking popular injected medications for weight loss, including Wegovy, Ozempic, Saxenda and Victoza, may be at a higher risk for serious digestive problems such as stomach paralysis, pancreatitis, and bowel obstructions, compared with those taking other types of weight loss medications.
The study, though, found that the risks of people being afflicted with these conditions are still rare, CNN reported. Still, the demand for the drugs has exploded, with tens of millions now taking them worldwide. Researchers say even rare risks like these may amount to hundreds of thousands of new cases, CNN said.
Winfrey made headlines in December by admitting that she had begun using weight-loss medication, as a way to finally get some control over her struggles with weight and body image, which have played out in the public over the past several decades. Her “body journey” also became a regular feature of her hit day-time talk show, which ran for 25 seasons, People reported.
“It was public sport to make fun of me for 25 years,” Winfrey told People in December. “I have been blamed and shamed, and I blamed and shamed myself.”
Winfrey told People she got a better handle on how to maintain a healthy weight in the long-term — and rid herself of shame once and for all — by incorporating weight-loss medication into “a holistic approach” to her health, which also includes regular exercise another life-style changes.
Winfrey told People it was a relief to finally realize she should stop blaming herself for being overweight, explaining “I have a predisposition that no amount of willpower is going to control.”
Winfrey said, “Obesity is a disease. It’s not about willpower — it’s about the brain.”
In a Weight Watchers TV special, Winfrey also expressed regret about being “a steadfast participant in this diet culture.” She said, “Through my platforms, through (my O magazine), through the talk show for 25 years and online, I’ve been a major contributor to it.”
“I cannot tell you how many weight-loss shows and makeovers I have done, and they have been a staple since I’ve been working in television,” Winfrey said.