She was simply the best, that Tina Turner, and no one knew it better than Oprah Winfrey. For decades, the decorated TV show host was friends with the Queen of Rock N’ Roll, as well as one of her biggest fans. That’s why when news broke of Tina’s passing on May 24, 2023, Oprah was one of the first to feel the loss. She took to Instagram with a photo carousel you can SEE HERE, as well as a video post of the duo onstage during a performance.
“I started out as a fan of Tina Turner, then a full-on groupie, following her from show to show around the country, and then, eventually, we became real friends,” the talk show queen wrote in the emotional caption on May 24. “She is our forever goddess of rock ‘n’ roll who contained a magnitude of inner strength that grew throughout her life. She was a role model not only for me but for the world. She encouraged a part of me I didn’t know existed.”
“Once she claimed her freedom from years of domestic abuse, her life became a clarion call for triumph,” she continued. “I’m grateful for her courage, for showing us what victory looks like wearing Manolo’s and a leather miniskirt. She once shared with me that when her time came to leave this earth, she would not be afraid, but excited and curious. Because she had learned how to LIVE surrounded by her beloved husband, Erwin, and friends. I am a better woman, a better human, because her life touched mine. She was indeed simply the best.”
Alongside the video post the same day, Oprah wrote, “I had
