Oprah Winfrey was taken to the hospital after coming down with a "very serious" stomach virus, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The longtime talk show host's best friend Gayle King broke the news on CBS Mornings on Tuesday, revealing (with a little TMI) why Oprah was absent from the discussion of David Wroblewski's Familiaris, her latest book club pick.
"She had some kind of stomach thing — stomach flu — stuff was coming out of both ends," King explained. "I won’t get too graphic. Needless to say, she ended up in the hospital, dehydration, had to get an IV."
King said that the illness was "was a very serious thing" and that Oprah tried to “rally” but was recommended to get some rest.
“She will be okay. I hope she’s not mad at me for sharing that detail,” King continued. “But I wanted to make it clear, though, that it mattered to her and that it really bothered her that she couldn’t be here for you today.”
King clarified on Instagram that Oprah was not hospitalized: "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. The answer is yes!"
"I was in the emergency room. I was so dehydrated. I had drymouth, and I couldn't keep enough water down to get hydrated, so I went to the emergency room for that. I'm not 100. I'm on my way to 100. Five people in my household had the same," Oprah told King in a video call. "I was too weak to get on the plane ... Everybody I've ever know that has access to my email has called me to say, 'Are you alright?' Thanks!"
“Ms. Winfrey is recovering following a stomach virus and received an IV due to dehydration at the recommendation of her doctor,” a representative for Winfrey told USA TODAY in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “She is resting and feeling better every day.”
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Oprah's sudden illness comes several months after the media mogul came clean about using weight loss drugs like Ozempic. "I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing," she shared in an interview in December.
"The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for," Winfrey stated. "I'm absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself."
