Oprah Didn't Leave Home For 322 Days Straight During The Pandemic!!!

Oprah Winfrey took the coronavirus pandemic very, very seriously.

The 68-year-old TV host and American entertainment icon is opening up about her COVID-19 concerns and what life was like for her in the early-going of the pandemic in a new interview. And in it, the former daytime talk show legend revealed something very interesting about just how committed she was to social distancing!

The TV icon spoke to the Los Angeles Times in a long feature story published late last week, and revealed she took no chances with the dangerous and deadly pandemic that swept the world beginning early in 2020.

Recalling her initial desire to remain safe — especially before COVID vaccines became readily available to the general public — Oprah told the newspaper (below):

“I’ve been so careful with myself that my own friends make fun of me. I didn’t leave home for 322 days — literally did not leave the house.”

Whoa!

Of course, we’re talking about Oprah here, so when she says “did not leave the house,” she means she didn’t leave her massive estate in Montecito, California that is known as “The Promised Land.” There’s a HUGE a difference between being able to live like that and, say, being stuck in a one-bedroom apartment or something.

Also, Oprah’s rich AF! Not that she didn’t earn her money, but it’s definitely easier to social-distance for nearly 365 full days when you don’t have to go to work and pay the rent. Ya know?!?!

To her credit, Oprah did speak up about how she leads “a very blessed and privileged life,” and thus was able to fully embrace isolation without having to be concerned about her “next paycheck.” So at least she understands that!

Still, the Mississippi-born star explained to the outlet how she actually came to enjoy the solitude of isolation. Recalling a conversation she had about it at the time with longtime pal Gayle King, Oprah explained:

“What has surprised me the most is how well I was able to adjust to the isolation and not being around other people. I remember one point [Gayle] said, ‘Don’t you just miss being around other people?’ I go, ‘Eh, not really.'”

And she continued from there, comparing her social distancing focus to her longtime work in the frenzied, crowd-driven daytime TV space:

“I was in an audience of 350 people twice a day, so I’ve had shaking hands and autographs and selfies, and lots of attention, and exposure to being around a lot of people.”

That makes sense! It was time for a looooong break! She even came to understand more about herself as she settled into a less-hectic schedule at home:

“I was able to be with myself in a way that I haven’t been able to for years, because usually, even if I take time off for myself, I’m thinking about what is the next thing to come.”

All told, it’s an interesting convo considering Oprah just executive-produced a new documentary called The Color of Care. The documentary is about a Black man named Gary Fowler who died of COVID-19 early in the spring of 2020 after he was turned away from multiple hospitals.

[Image via The Smithsonian Channel/YouTube]