Gayle King appeared on Instagram Tuesday evening to clear up details about her best friend Oprah Winfrey’s health.
The 69-year-old news anchor had announced on the latest episode of CBS Mornings that her longtime pal, 70, could not make her famous book club segment due to a stomach virus.
Later in the day, however, King recorded a video chat with the billionaire mogul to clear things up and let fans know she was doing well and not in the hospital as previously believed.
Gayle wrote in a caption to her one million followers: ‘A first for @cbsmornings, announcing @oprah’s latest book club pick without Oprah!’
At one point during the phone call, in which Oprah appeared on a small tablet set on King’s desk, the journalist asked if she had offended the former talk show host.
Gayle King appeared on Instagram Tuesday evening to clear up details about her best friend Oprah Winfrey’s health
The 69-year-old news anchor had announced on the latest episode of CBS Mornings that her longtime pal, 70, could not make her famous book club segment due to a stomach virus
Oprah replied: ‘No, I thought what you were trying to do is explain why I wasn’t there, and doing that in a definitive way.’
Gayle’s caption continued: ‘She was sidelined with a stomach virus that caused such dehydration that she went to the hospital to get an IV drip.’
‘I never said you were hospitalized. I did say that you had a stomach something, it was coming out of both sides, which it was,’ the mother-of-two explained in the clip shared on Instagram.
Oprah cut it to confirm, ‘I was in the emergency room. I was so…’
‘Dehydrated,’ Gayle helped her explain before the OWN founder continued, ‘I couldn’t keep enough water down to get hydrated so I went to the emergency room for that and that’s just it.’
King observed, ‘You’re still a little weak-ish, it seems,’ and Winfrey agreed, ‘I’m not 100 [percent]. I’m on my way to 100.’
She also disclosed, ‘Five people in my household had the same thing. I would say keep your hands washed because I hear it’s being transmitted through… the doctor told me that [the virus] lives on the doorknobs and railings for like, ten hours.
‘So if you come across somebody who’s been in the house and they’ve gone down the stairs, then you went down the stairs and you didn’t wash your hands you end up with it.’
Gayle wrote in a caption to her one million followers: ‘A first for @cbsmornings, announcing @ oprah’s latest book club pick without Oprah!’; the friends pictured in December 2023
‘The only point I was trying to make is to show how badly you wanted to be there to promote the book ’cause you never miss those,’ Gayle expressed about why she disclosed Oprah’s business on the morning show.
‘The point I was trying to make, America, is that it had to be something that would keep her from getting on a plane and coming. That’s the only point I was trying to make,’ she doubled down.
Gayle said to her best friend of decades, ‘I didn’t really think that it was a big deal or that it would be something that would be upsetting to you, otherwise I never would have said it.’
Oprah agreed, ‘Yeah, I know you wouldn’t have done that.’
She later joked, ‘Everyone that I’ve ever known and has access to my email has called me to say, “Are you alright?” Thanks!’
Oprah hosted Gayle’s son William Bumpus Jr.’s wedding at her estate this year
The women’s friendship spans decades; pictured at the 2024 Grammys
On the morning show, when she was asked about the current state of Oprah’s health, Gayle said: ‘She will be okay. She will be okay.’
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.’
