Oprah Winfrey Reveals ‘Serious’ Health Battle To Ellen DeGeneres

Oprah Winfrey revealed a “serious” health battle to Ellen DeGeneres, sharing with her longtime pal on her eponymous talk show that she continues to struggle to recover from pneumonia.

Good Morning America reported that the legendary television personality, who rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s as the host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, believed she just had a cold, but later went to the emergency room where she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Oprah said she started on a round of antibiotics after first seeing her doctor, but realized they were not lessening her symptoms, so she went to see a lung specialist thereafter.

“Pneumonia is nothing to play with, y’all. It is very serious,” she said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, stating that the specialist checked her out and gave her what she called an “oh sh*t” face and it was then she realized there was something seriously wrong with her.

She then revealed her doctor told her to immediately “cancel everything.”

“I’ve never canceled anything in my life,” Oprah continued of her years of keeping both her personal and professional commitments despite how she felt. “He’s like, ‘You must cancel everything. You can’t fly for a month,'” she explained.

Thankfully the talk show host’s illness cleared up in a relatively short amount of time, likely because it was caught early and she was given the proper treatment, including the right medication and an inhaler.

Oprah told viewers that it was imperative they get their flu shots and pneumonia shots, clarifying that both illnesses can be serious and nothing to disregard.

The legendary talk show host, producer, actress, and entertainment personality will start a nine-city 2020 Vision Tour where she revealed to Ellen she will try to motivate people to take care of themselves “and not get pneumonia,” she joked.

In addition to her upcoming tour, Oprah has also begun a new streaming series titled Oprah’s Book Club on Apple TV+. Through this partnership, she will interview select authors and new episodes will premiere every two months, reported CNBC. Oprah’s Book Club originally began in 1996 when she was still the host of her own daily syndicated talk series and it was a way to get women, in particular, to find time to be with themselves and enjoy a good book.

The Inquisitr previously reported that another entertainment legend, Whoopi Goldberg, became very ill after contracting both pneumonia and sepsis. Whoopi had to be hospitalized as her condition was more severe than Oprah’s and she was out of work for over a month while she recovered. Upon Whoopi’s return to daytime, she urged her fans to go to a doctor when they realize that something is not right and to not ignore any symptoms that do not go away, like a lingering cough.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show airs daily in syndication.