It’s not everyday that Gayle King overshares about her bestie Oprah Winfrey, but when she does—it’s always something hilarious.
That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday’s episode of “CBS Mornings” when the media mogul missed her appearance on the show to promote her new Oprah’s Book Club selection. A highly unusual occurrence, King took it upon herself to explain to the audience why Winfrey was missing. The cause? A stomach flu that landed Oprah a short stay in the hospital to treat dehydration.
“She had some kind of stomach thing, stomach flu where stuff was coming out of both ends. I won’t get too graphic, but needless to say she ended up in the hospital, dehydration, to get an IV. So it was a very serious thing,” King explained. “She will be okay, she will be okay. I hope she’s not mad at me for sharing that detail.”
“Coming out of both ends???” Umm, thanks for that visual, Gayle.
In a followup post to Oprah Daily’s official Instagram, a spokesperson for Oprah shared: “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 everyday.”
Later, in a video posted to King’s Instagram where she and Queen O were on a video call, Winfrey explained how she was so sick she couldn’t hold enough water down to keep her fluids up, and that’s why she ended up in the hospital.
“I’m not 100, I’m on my way to 100,” Winfrey said. She also shared that she wasn’t upset or offended by King’s overshare.
“I thought what you were trying to do was explain why I wasn’t there and doing that in a definitive way,” Winfrey said.
Well, all’s well that ends well. But Gayle, please try to spare us next time.