empty shell

To celebrate the media mogul's guest-starring role on tonight's '30 Rock,' we look back at her gabfest's most outrageous moments
By Kate Ward
Updated November 05, 2008 at 11:00 PM EST

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Oprah Interviews Elizabeth Taylor

Feb. 1, 1988

Oprah experienced one of her worst interviews when a tight-lipped Elizabeth Taylor appeared on her show (Oprah has admitted, ''It's still painful to watch''). Certainly, the tragic hairstyles didn't help.

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Wheeling Out the Fat Wagon

Nov. 15, 1988

Oprah pulls out a wagon with 67 pounds of fat to represent her weight loss. In turn, she helps viewers begin their diets by drastically reducing the appeal of bacon.

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Oprah Champions Hot Alaskan Love

Feb. 17, 1989

If only Oprah had pitched this idea to Mike Fleiss (think Who Wants to Marry a Hot Cold Man?): A slew of Alaskan men hardly received a chilly reception from female Oprah fans, who flocked to the airport in droves to greet the host's single-and-looking guests.

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Oprah Breaks Down

May 21, 1990

Before Ellen had Iggy, Oprah had Truddi Chase. When the author of When Rabbit Howls made a guest appearance on Oprah's show to talk about her tragic childhood — Chase was continually raped by her stepfather — the host broke down in tears during her introduction and had to ask her cameraman to stop filming.

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Oprah Slams Beef

1998

When beef sales plummeted after O said that mad-cow disease ''stopped me cold from eating another burger,'' a group of Texas cattle ranchers sued the talk show titan — and lost. What, are you surprised?

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Everybody Gets a Car!

Sept. 13, 2004

Oprah jump-starts season 19 by giving a Pontiac G6 to every member of her convulsing audience, some of whom literally climb on the vehicles in ecstasy.

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Dr. Oz Talks BMs

May 3, 2005

As if Oprah's fat wagon wasn't too much information, the host welcomed Dr. Mehmet Oz on her program to discuss the appearance and sound of — prepare yourself — healthy poop (hint: the doc references an Acapulco cliff diver as an analogy).

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Tom Goes Crazylove on Oprah's Couch

Credit: Harpo Productions

May 23, 2005

Tom Cruise shakes Oprah like a rattle and jumps on her couch to declare his love for Katie Holmes. Comedians and gossip bloggers worldwide extend their gratitude.

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Oprah Chooses William Faulkner

June 3, 2005

Oprah's audience got the most difficult reading assignment of their lives — this isn't Eat Pray Love, folks! — when the host chose a trio of novels by the notoriously difficult-to-read Faulkner for her book club. No wonder the book only stayed on the Publishers Weekly best-seller chart for a mere three weeks.

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Terry McMillan Confronts Her Gay Ex-Husband

Nov. 9, 2005

Talk about squirm-inducing television. The author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back used an episode of Oprah's show to spar with her ex-husband, who admitted to being gay after six years of marriage.

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Credit: George Burns/AP
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By Kate Ward