Chicago’s United Center was packed Tuesday night with Oprah’s fans and followers for the taping of the finale episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show. The media giant enjoyed surprises from some big A-List stars including: Maya Angelou, Beyonce, Tom Cruise, Michael Jordan, Will & Jada Smith, Aretha Franklin, Stedman, Madonna, Maria Shriver and the list goes on!
Check out some snaps from the show (which are set to air back to back next week) and also read some actual recaps provided by TVSQUAD.COM below.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE TAPING:
Beyonce came onstage to perform in a tuxedo leotard, singing ‘Oprah we can run the world,’ and the crowd went nuts. Tom Cruise is still inexplicably on stage with Oprah. Later, Beyonce had to re-do her performance. Let’s just hope they use Oprah’s original reaction for air.
Diane Sawyer walked on stage, then a large tree appeared as Oprah announced that 
everyone in the audience was getting … a tree. Huh. The tree-giving was upstaged by Halle Berry, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes coming out on stage.
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith come onstage to cohost the rest of the show. Chicago Bulls music starts playing as Michael Jordan walks up from the audience — “MJ in the HOUSE!” screams Oprah — and shares the fun fact that they both started in Chicago the same year, 1984.
Jamie Foxx comes on stage and calls Oprah “sexy” and “beautiful,” then gives us the first Stedman mention of the show. He also starts singing ‘Isn’t She Lovely,’ which is the cue for Stevie Wonder to rise up on stage with his piano to join in. Wow. Then Stevie sings a song he wrote just for Oprah, and Lady O shoos the cameras away to enjoy a sweet private moment. Continue
“I mean, hey, lots of comedians dress up like women, not just Black. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book. Men in drag…There was Mrs. Doubtfire. [Adam] Sandler’s next movies is Jack and Jill. He plays his brother and sister. [The Black community] doesn’t have that many movies, so if there’s only four Black movies in a year and two of them star Black men in dresses, I could see how that would upset some people. But that’s a job for some people… Tyler Perry is great in a dress, but I don’t want to see Denzel or Will Smith in a dress. And I don’t think we’re in any danger of seeing that.” [Source]
