Oprah Recalls Tina Turner’s Final Years: “One Health Crisis After Another”
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Like all of us, Oprah Winfrey was a Tina Turner fan. Unlike most of us, however, she was lucky enough to become Turner’s friend. In a new interview with CBS This Morning, Oprah and Gayle King, who also knew and loved Turner, looked back on their friendships with the performer, and even revealed details of her final years.
As Oprah and Gayle pointed out, Turner suffered numerous health issues before ultimately passing away on May 24th, 2023. She suffered a stroke in 2013, which King recalled “you could still see in her face” when she joined her for a CBS Sunday Morning interview in 2018. In 2016, she was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, and the following year, she underwent a kidney transplant thanks to her husband Erwin Bach, who gave her his kidney. Just this February, Oprah revealed, she had back surgery.
“I had seen her in 2019 and gone to visit her in the hospital, and she had said to me then that she was actually ready to go,” Oprah revealed. “Meaning, ready to leave the planet. And I expected then that that was gonna be the last time that I saw her. And then I would just have to say, her husband, Erwin Bach, is the most extraordinary person I’ve ever known, because he loved her back to a facsimile of health and lifestyle. I mean, he literally willed her to live.”
“She kept coming back,” Gayle added, calling Turner a “badass.” “She used to always say, ‘I’m still not bitter,’ despite everything she’s been through.”
Despite these crises, the two personalities rightfully emphasized that Turner’s resilience — in the face of abuse and health issues — is what we should remember about her. The video offers a ton of sweet clips of Oprah and Turner throughout the years, from live performances the pair shared to the time Turner surprised Oprah for her 50th birthday by appearing on her talk show.
“She became a clarion call of triumph for other women,” Oprah said. Watch their whole interview below.
Tributes have poured in for Turner since her death. Angela Bassett, who portrayed the singer in the 1993 biopic What’s Love Got to Do with It?, said she “owned her pain and trauma and used it as a means to help change the world,” while Lizzo covered “Proud Mary” at a recent show in Phoenix.
Revisit our list of Turner’s 10 Best Songs.
“What a legacy she left us all”: @GayleKing and @Oprah shared special moments with Tina Turner, from concerts to dance lessons to meals together.
Oprah says she was a longtime fan of Turner's — and the singer exceeded and transcended her expectations in friendship. pic.twitter.com/1INqw1BJ1j— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) May 25, 2023
Oprah Recalls Tina Turner’s Final Years: “One Health Crisis After Another”
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