Oprah’s Near-Nervous Breakdown: ‘I Wasn’t Ready to Go Run Naked in the Streets’ (Video)

Winfrey reveals a period when she was feeling pretty overwhelmed

Between her shows, her network, her magazine, her movies and everything else that falls under her empire, Oprah Winfrey has long been one of the busiest people in entertainment.

It all got to her recently, she told “Access Hollywood,” when she interviewed “Kony 2012” creator Jason Russell the day after filming emotional funeral scenes for “The Butler.”

Russell suffered a breakdown of his own, famously running naked through the San Diego streets while ranting about the devil following the tremendous viral success of his “Kony 2012” video. After his return to sanity, Winfrey interviewed him for her “Oprah’s Next Chapter.” But she might’ve jumped back into Oprah-mode too quickly after leaving her Gloria Gaines “Butler” character behind on the set.

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“I had not processed or released any of those emotions,” she said. “So I had gone into that whole funeral state, loss, grieving, all the emotions, stirring up all that stuff. And then the next morning — gotta go! Gotta get on a plane!”

When Russell began describing his symptoms, Winfrey recalled thinking “sounds pretty familiar to me!”

“I thought, ‘if I don’t calm down, I’m gonna be in serious trouble,’” Winfrey said.

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So when it came time for her interview with Fergie, Winfrey ordered her producer not to have anyone speak to her unless it was absolutely necessary. Fortunately, she said, she never reached the breaking point that would have exposed her in heretofore unseen ways.

“I wasn’t ready to go run naked in the streets,” Winfrey said. “Let’s make that very clear.”

Watch the video:

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