A viral video of Oprah Winfrey pointing out the shattered screen of a fan videoing her initially spurred giggles. But now, the fan is getting the last laugh.
Olufemi Yessoufou and his friend Zachariah Smith are freshman students at Morehouse College in Atlanta. They chased Winfrey down Oct. 7 as she headed off campus following her celebration of the 30th anniversary of her scholarship fund, the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program.
After the young men managed to catch the media mogul, who also announced she’d be donating $13 million to Morehouse that day, Yessoufou raised his phone to record the interaction.
“Hey, Oprah!” he said.
“Hey, that’s me!” Winfrey replied. “That’s me in your cracked phone.”
The moment went viral once Yessoufou shared it on Twitter with the caption, “she played me 😂.”
Many people responded by cracking up over the joke.
“Oprah said ‘whew chile, the ghetto’ 🤧”
“My man’s turned around HURT lmao”
“Yooooo 😂😂😂 she REALLY ain’t had to play you like that 😭😭😭😭”
Some said Yessoufou should have gotten the “A Wrinkle In Time” actress to buy him a new phone.
“Shid I would’ve said buy me a new one’”
“She couldn’t have offered to buy you a new phone after shading you?! 😂”
“You should of told her to buy you a new phone 😂”
Well, by Friday, Oct. 18, Yessoufou got a new phone courtesy of Winfrey — and he didn’t even have to ask.
“Update: OPRAH BOUGHT ME A NEW PHONE! Thank you @Oprah ❤️” he tweeted.
The post was accompanied by a photo of the new iPhone with a message from Winfrey.
“Dear Olufemi, We can’t have you out here viewing the world thru a cracked screen or a cracked cover. The new camera you’re gonna love for sure!” ready the former talk show host’s message.
Speaking to BuzzFeed, Yessoufou said he got a direct message from a member of Winfrey’s team after his video went viral saying O wanted to gift him with a new mobile device.
“Oprah already has this phone for you, and it’s my job to make sure you get it,” the DM read.
“For her to go out of her way to send me a phone was amazing,” Yessoufou said, adding that he vowed to become an Oprah Winfrey Scholar next semester.
Meanwhile, Yessoufou is winning praise from folks online for being the winner in his interaction with Winfrey.
“This is beautiful”
“Omg that was so sweet 🔥”
And some hoped to get Winfrey’s help in other areas.
“My bank account is cracked Aunty Oprah!!!! Make fun of me next😩😩😩”
“Joke with me about my Bills Oprah”
