Oprah Winfrey has been surprising her guests with makeovers, cars, reunions, and any kind of gift you can think of for 25 years, but a surprise celebrity-studded farewell for the talk show legend left her in tears.
A host of Oprah’s celebrity friends including Madonna, Tom Hanks, and Tom Cruise made up the secret guest line-up for Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular.
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Oprah took her place on the stage in a white chair wearing a long purple dress. The studio was decorated with pictures of her at seminal moments over the course of her talk show and audience seats were fitted with much-needed tissues.
Josh Groban and Patti LaBelle were the musical acts, singing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ while celebrity guests sang the praises of the TV queen.
Beyoncé thanked Oprah for her contribution before starting her performance.
“Because of you, women everywhere have graduated to a new level of understanding of who we are, of what we are and most of all who we can be,” she said.
“She fights for things she believes in, even it if makes her unpopular,” Madonna said.
“You always had the power, and that is the message you brought into our lives,” said Tom Cruise.
Oprah was quite taken aback by the kind comments and fanfare of the occasion, wiping away tears as she accepted a standing ovation.
“Was that not the coolest?” she said.
Thirteen thousand lucky lottery-winning fans also got to farewell Oprah at the taping. Those in attendance were among 154,000 who requested tickets for the event.
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The Oprah love-fest was filmed in Chicago this Tuesday to air over two nights on May 23 and 24, ahead of the final show on May 25.
While details of the final show are still under wraps, Will Smith has been confirmed as one of the guests for Oprah’s finale.
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