TV legends Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman sat down for a candid one-on-one conversation at Ball State University, that gave a revealing look into Winfrey past. INSIDE EDITION has the details.
It was a rock star welcome for Oprah and Dave. The TV titans were at Ball State University in Indiana Monday night for a hugely-anticipated appearance.
So, how big a draw are Oprah and Dave? Huge. The auditorium seats 3,300 and it was filled to capacity. The sit-down was free to students. Many even camped out overnight for tickets.
One student told INSIDE EDITION, "They have so much wisdom. I'm so excited to hear what they have to say."
Letterman is a hero to these students. Ball State is his alma mater. He hosts a lecture series there and brings in big name guests.
But this was no light-hearted late night chat. Oprah opened up about her troubled childhood.
"I was raised in an environment that would clearly be called abusive today," said Winfrey.
She told Letterman that family members now treat her like an ATM machine. She says she recently gathered them all together and cut them off.
Winfrey said, "I had all the family over and I brought the lawyers over. And we sat down and I said, 'You're going to get this, and you're going to get this, and you're going to get this, and don't ask me ever again.' "
But Dave being Dave, meant it wasn't all serious.
Winfrey said, "And the kids came to beat me up after school because they were so sick of me in the first grade."
Letterman asked, "Because you were the smart kid in the class, and you deserved a beating."
"I deserved a beating, yes," said Winfrey.
Pointing to the college campus, Letterman said, "That used to happen to me here on campus regularly."
The sit-down lasted 90 minutes—well beyond the scheduled time. The University president twice walked onstage to wrap things up, but Letterman and Winfrey kept going. You'd never believe they once had a feud that lasted 15 years.
