Oprah reveals frivolous fear

CEBU, Philippines - Oprah Winfrey is one of the most powerful media tycoons in history, but even she holds a frivolous fear that she rarely discusses.

In the October issue of her O Magazine, Winfrey confesses a fear of an object that is typically associated with happy occasions. “A lot of people don’t know this, but I really don’t like balloons. For my 40th birthday, my entire staff decided to surprise me, and I come downstairs and the entire audience is filled with balloons.”

“Literally, I’m stepping over balloons, having to walk through balloons and I’m...like, ‘Oh! When is one going to pop?!?’ It was an anxiety-filled day.”

Nearly two decades after her balloon-infested birthday, Oprah says she associates her fear of balloons with gunfire because of the startling sounds the decorative bags make when they pop.

Although Oprah candidly admits her fear, she maintains that overcoming the dread supplied her with a widely applicable lesson. “I walk downstairs, it’s a surprise and there are balloons everywhere and everybody is so excited and all I can think is ‘This is a room full of balloons!’ No way around it, just had to walk through them,” Oprah says, painting a positive message on the experience. “That became a metaphor for facing all of my fears: ‘No way around it, just walk right through it.’” (FREEMAN)