Oprah Winfrey was hospitalized recently because of a stomach problem that left her excreting from ‘both ends,’ her best friend Gayle King revealed.
Gayle, 69, made the candid confession on Tuesday, adding that she hoped Oprah, 70, would not be upset by her indiscretion.
It comes fives months after Winfrey admitted to having used weight loss drugs, similar to Ozempic.
Gayle was in the process of interviewing novelist David Wroblewski, whose new release Familiaris was selected for Oprah’s book club.
Oprah generally introduces her book club picks herself, but she was unable to appear on the air Tuesday because of her illness, leaving the task to Gayle.
After vividly explaining the reason behind Oprah’s absence, Gayle said: ‘I hope she’s not mad at me for sharing that detail.’
Oprah, whose size has famously fluctuated over the years, recently hit the headlines for her documentary about people who use weight loss drugs.
‘It is a very personal topic for me,’ said Oprah in a press statement quoted by BET: ‘and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity.’
Over her decades of superstardom, Oprah has been candid with her fans about the various steps she has taken to shed pounds.
Last year she was dogged by rumors she was on Ozempic, the diabetes medicine that has become a Hollywood fad among those attempting to slim down.
As the speculation mounted, Oprah confessed in December that she had relented and started taking weight loss medication – after previously feeling that she had to rely on her own ‘willpower’ to achieve the figure she wanted.
Her size ‘occupied five decades of space in my brain, yo-yoing and feeling like why can’t I just conquer this thing, believing willpower was my failing,’ she told People.
When she underwent knee surgery in 2021, her physical rehabilitation helped her develop a number of healthy habits that helped her burn fat.
‘After knee surgery, I started hiking and setting new distance goals each week. I could eventually hike three to five miles every day and a 10-mile straight-up hike on weekends. I felt stronger, more fit and more alive than I’d felt in years,’ she gushed.
‘I eat my last meal at 4 o’clock, drink a gallon of water a day, and use the Weight Watchers principles of counting points,’ added the television icon, who at that point was still on the board of directors of Weight Watchers.
As for the drugs, she said: ‘I had an awareness of medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way.’
