Oprah Winfrey is done letting the internet have the last word. The media mogul recently addressed the wave of online mockery that followed her appearance at Paris Fashion Week, where critics on social media poked fun at the way she and her longtime best friend Gayle King were walking as they arrived at the Chloé fashion show. To hear Winfrey tell it, the real story is far more entertaining than anything the trolls came up with.
The clip of Winfrey’s explanation made the rounds on Instagram earlier this month and quickly gained traction. Winfrey later reshared it herself, clearly unbothered and happy to set the record straight on her own terms.
The sunglasses that started it all
The explanation turned out to be wonderfully simple. Just before stepping out of the car at the Chloé show, Winfrey’s stylist handed her a pair of the brand’s sunglasses to wear for the entrance. The problem was that Winfrey normally wears prescription eyewear, and those glasses were anything but. She could not see where she was going.
Navigating an unfamiliar environment without being able to see clearly, Winfrey said she had to lean on her security team to guide her steps. What looked to outside observers like a slow and uncertain gait was really just a woman trying not to walk into something she could not see.
The moment she revealed this detail, the mockery suddenly looked a lot less clever.
King was dealing with her own ordeal
As if one explanation were not enough, it turned out that King had her own very good reason for the cautious pace that day. Walking alongside Winfrey at the show, King quietly confided that she was dealing with two broken toes. Between one friend who could not see and another who could barely walk, the pair’s careful entrance made complete sense.
Winfrey delivered the revelation with good humor, framing the whole episode as a comedy of small misfortunes rather than anything worth defending at length. The internet, she made clear, had built an entire narrative around a moment it did not come close to understanding.
A 72-year-old who is anything but slowing down
The irony of being accused of walking like a 90-year-old is not lost on anyone who has followed Winfrey’s recent fitness journey. She has been unusually candid about her health and physical transformation over the past year, sharing regular updates on social media that paint a picture of someone working harder in the gym than most people half her age.
In February, she posted a throwback video of herself attempting her very first plank in 2024, a move that lasted all of 10 seconds. By the time of the post, she had built up to holding the position for over a minute, with added weights. She credited her trainer for pushing her toward new challenges and showed no sign of backing down from them.
On her 72nd birthday in January, Winfrey shared footage of herself completing a set of deadlifts, accompanied by a message about the value of trying something new at any age. She noted that her strength training journey began roughly two summers ago, following knee surgery, and that the results had changed how she thinks about aging entirely.
Winfrey laughs it off and moves on
The Paris Fashion Week episode is already fading into the background of what has otherwise been a very active chapter in Winfrey’s public life. Rather than letting the criticism linger, she chose to address it with transparency and a sense of humor, which may be the most effective response to internet pile-ons that anyone has found.
For the trolls who spent time crafting jokes about her walk, the joke ultimately landed somewhere else entirely.
