WASHINGTON — Gayle King took to social media Tuesday afternoon to clarify comments she had made that her friend, Oprah Winfrey, had ended up in the hospital.
King originally said Tuesday on "CBS Mornings" that Winfrey had been in the hospital with a stomach virus and dehydration. Winfrey had been scheduled to appear on the show to talk about the next pick for her famous book club, David Wroblewski's "Familairis."
Her absence prompted King, who has been Winfrey's friend for nearly 50 years, to reassure the audience.
"She had some kind of stomach thing — stomach flu — stuff was coming out of both ends,” King said Tuesday morning. “I won't get too graphic. Needless to say, she ended up in the hospital, dehydration, had to get an IV."
But the words, meant to explain Winfrey's absence, had fans expressing concern for the 70-year-old former talk-show host.
"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," King wrote on Instagram.
Hours later, King recorded a video chat with her friend to set the record straight.
The clip of the FaceTime call was posted to King's Instagram, where Winfrey reassured everybody that she was fine.
"I went to the emergency room for that, and that's just it," Winfrey said, noting that the stomach bug made her too weak to get on a plane, causing her to miss the book club announcement. "I'm not 100. I'm on my way to (100%)."
