Oprah Calls Ahmaud Arbery's Mom, Sends Birthday Gift

66-year-old said she was hoping for justice
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 12, 2020 7:14 AM CDT
Oprah Calls Ahmaud Arbery's Mom, Sends Birthday Gift
This Feb. 8, 2020 file photo shows Oprah Winfrey speaking at "Oprah's 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus" tour in New York.   (Photo by Brad Barket/Invision/AP, File)

Oprah Winfrey and her family joined Viola Davis, Alicia Keys, and others in protesting the death of Ahmaud Arbery on Friday, but that wasn't all. The media mogul—who walked 2.23 miles in honor of the Georgia man who was shot and killed while jogging on Feb. 23, per People—also called Arbery's mother on what would’ve been his 26th birthday. Wanda Cooper-Jones tells TMZ that she was stunned to hear Oprah's voice on the other end of the phone. Winfrey offered her condolences, said she was thinking of Arbery, and said she hoped the family would get justice following the arrests of murder suspects Gregory and Travis McMichael, according to Cooper-Jones. She also said a gift was in the mail.

"Today would've been Ahmaud Arbery's 26th birthday. But he's not here to celebrate because he was senselessly shot and killed doing something to make his life healthier and stronger," Winfrey wrote on Instagram on Friday. "Unimaginable to go for a run in 2020 and end up dead because of the color of your skin." In a video, she's seen walking with partner Stedman Graham and two others. "As a family, we walked in the name of justice, in the name of his birthday, and we're sending blessings to his family," she says. Winfrey's best friend Gayle King had called Arbery's mother on Thursday, per TMZ. Cooper-Jones said she also heard from Rev. Jesse Jackson, who hoped to meet with the family once it is safe. (More Ahmaud Arbery stories.)

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