'Unrecognizable' Oprah Winfrey Hits Back at Trolls Mocking Her '90-Year-Old' Walk at Paris Fashion Week
Fans claimed Oprah Winfrey appeared 'hunched' with trouble walking at Paris Fashion Week.
March 16 2026, Published 7:50 p.m. ET
Oprah Winfrey has blasted back at criticism over her controversial Paris Fashion Week appearance, where she looked unrecognizably thin and appeared to have trouble walking, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former talk show titan, 72, was seen holding onto a staffer's arm at the Chloe show, while also taking small, gingerly steps as pal Gayle King did the same. Winfrey explained that there was a reason why she was moving like a nonagenarian.
Both Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King Had Reasons for Their Odd Walking in Paris
Winfrey and Gayle King were both called out for how they were walking like '90-year-olds' at PFW.
"On the internet, somebody was… you know how people drag you on the internet. So they were dragging me and Gayle saying, 'Look at them walking like they’re 90 years old,'" Winfrey complained in a clip posted to Instagram by the CBS Mornings host's assistant, Joseph Zambrano. He also oversees the Oprah magazine Instagram account.
"And so there was a moment where we’re walking into the Chloé fashion show, and my stylist had just handed me the Chloé sunglasses before I got out of the car," Winfrey explained about the stylish accessory she was wearing at the show, noting, "Now, I wear glasses, or I wear contacts. So those were not prescription glasses."
'I Could Not See' While Walking in Paris
Winfrey blamed her gingerly walk on this pair of Chloe sunglasses she's seen wearing here.
Winfrey pointed out, "Now, I wear glasses, or I wear contacts. So those were not prescription glasses. So I didn't know where I was walking. I could not see!"
She doubled down, dishing, "So everybody who's saying 'you're walking like you're 90,' I could not see."
The author of Build the Life You Want said she needed assistance from a security team member to tell her where she was going, so she wouldn't walk into anything.
Winfrey said that King had trouble walking, not due to a vision issue like her but thanks to two broken toes.
She said her BFF was telling her, "I can't walk" with the injured foot as they made their way through the Parisian venue.
"And that’s the reason we looked like we were 90 years old," Winfrey recalled as the room erupted in laughter.
Oprah Winfrey 'Acts Differently' After Her Weight Loss Makeover
Winfrey lost more than 50 pounds with the help of a GLP-1 weight loss drug.
Not everyone was buying Winfrey's explanation for her strange walking style at PFW, where she appeared hunched over and took the dainty steps at a separate fashion show where she wasn't wearing the Chloe sunglasses.
"Folks don’t bend over when they can’t see, they squint," one user wrote in the comments.
"Love them both, but Oprah has been walking hunched over for years," a second fan observed.
A third user complained about Winfrey's PFW glow-up, "Fashion week in Paris showed a really different superficial lady who was all about the outside. She sits differently, acts differently. Why can’t she be her 'old self' inside?" referring to the star's dramatic weight loss.
However, Winfrey's die-hards loved her explanation.
"Great to be able to laugh about it….but people really do just need to SHUT UP and find something else to do. She is living her best life!" a fourth person cheered.
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Oprah Winfrey Gushes About 'Feeling Comforatble In My Own Skin'
Winfrey looked so chic in a bolero jacket and slim jeans while heading to lunch with King.
Winfrey's dramatic makeover for PFW took many fans by surprise, claiming she looked "unrecognizable" with her high-fashion looks and slender figure. She previously admitted to going on a GLP-1 to lose more than 50 pounds.
The Color Purple star savored every minute of her time in France.
"Fashion. Friendship. Food. And the simple joy of feeling comfortable in my own skin. Thank you, Paris, for a magnificent week," she captioned an Instagram carousel of photos and video from her trip.
Winfrey also thanked her stylist for "every outfit that was selected with care and love," as well as her glam team, adding, about her new fashion-diva alter ego, "Now I gotta put her away and get in some pajamas!"
