Oprah Winfrey had the best intentions for her friend Gayle King, although the surprise she unveiled nearly caused her bestie to have a “heart attack.”
Gayle and Oprah have been friends for five decades, and Gayle has also worked for Oprah’s various ventures, so they have quite a bond.
With Gayle recently celebrating a milestone birthday, Oprah indicated it’s difficult to surprise her.
However, she certainly did, as she orchestrated a surprise birthday party, which caused a major jump scare for her friend.
Oprah shared a video clip showing her leading Gayle into a room. As they were near a countertop, a large crowd suddenly yelled, “Surprise!”
The CBS Mornings star appeared startled and was shaken up by the sudden shouting and screaming from the group of people as she placed her purse down on a nearby countertop and put her hands over her heart.
“Talk about a surprise !!! I thought I was going to @oprah’s holiday dinner for the @oprahdaily team at her favorite restaurant @cisiamonyc and then THIS happened ….,” she captioned a funny Instagram video highlighting the moment.
Oprah almost gave Gayle a ‘heart attack’ with a huge surprise party for her 70th birthday
After Gayle calmed down, the many party guests sang Happy Birthday together. Gayle put her hands over her mouth and became emotional as she chatted to Oprah and others.
Gayle’s children, Kirby and Will Bumpus, Jr., attended the event and are seen among those hugging their mother upon her arrival.
“My bestie of 50 years is turning 70 so we gathered everyone that loved her to celebrate. Hard thing to surprise her, O the stories we have made up, the lies we have told to keep this a secret. Happy birthday @gayleking, sorry we almost gave you a heart attack😂,” Oprah captioned her video.
Oprah threw Gayle a star-studded event to celebrate her milestone birthday
It was certainly a star-studded event, as Gayle shared a carousel post featuring photos of many celebrity guests who celebrated her milestone birthday.
Oprah’s surprise party was “six months in the making” and included comedian Dave Chappelle, talk show host Sherri Shepherd, singer Katy Perry, actress Angela Bassett, and New England Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft.
As the slides above showed, guests had a lot of fun as they partied it up and danced the night away.
CBS’s The Late Show host Stephen Colbert appears in a video below, showing some serious moves as he dances with Oprah and others.
Gayle delivered a funny and emotional speech to her party guests
It was quite a surprise party for Gayle, as all sorts of friends, family, and colleagues attended the special event.
She delivered a speech in which she mentioned her birthday falls on December 28 every year, during the holidays. She indicated she doesn’t ever plan anything so as not to inconvenience others and usually goes to dinner with Oprah or something similar.
She said she couldn’t believe some of the guests who attended her birthday celebration, including Amazon’s founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sanchez.
In her speech, Gayle mentioned chatting with singer Katy Perry about her attending the surprise party.
“I said, ‘Katy, I can’t believe you came.’ She said, ‘I know I have to be on stage in Madison Square Garden in an hour, but you’re a good b***h, so I came,'” Gayle said as everyone laughed.
“I am just blown away by the people that have taken the time to come,” she said, visibly choked up.
“I’m so grateful, and thank you so, so much. I really do feel the love,” Gayle told her guests.
While she officially turns 70 later this month, there was much love and happiness in the room courtesy of her best friend, Oprah. Thankfully, Gayle survived the initial surprise and enjoyed a spectacular party.