Oprah Winfrey jets off to Switzerland to attend pal Tina Turner's low-key funeral service
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND: Oprah Winfrey has reportedly flown to Zurich to attend the private funeral service of Tina Turner. The media mogul flew her private jet from Paris to Switzerland less than 24 hours after posting an emotional tribute to honor the Queen of Rock ‘n Roll. Winfrey is said to have landed Thursday afternoon, May 25. According to Radar Online, she had been in Italy on a work-related trip when Turner died earlier this week.
The 'Private Dancer' hitmaker "died peacefully" at her residence in Küsnacht, Switzerland on Wednesday, May 24, and would be honored at a private funeral service, according to her spokesperson Bernard Doherty, who said only Turner’s close relatives and friends would be attending the ceremony. According to Radar Online, Winfrey's presence in Switzerland means the Grammy winner will have a sendoff abroad and not in Brownsville, Tennessee, where she was born in 1939.
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Tina Turner's cause of death revealed as world mourns loss of inspiring superstar
Turner notably lived in Europe for decades after receiving her Swiss citizenship shortly after tying the knot with her husband Erwin Bach in 2013. The couple lived in a lavish $77 million, 24,000-square-foot mansion on Lake Zurich.
Turner tragically lost her son Craig Raymond Turner in 2018 after he ended his life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ronald Turner, her second son, passed away in December 2022 after succumbing to complications from colon cancer outside his San Fernando Valley, California home. It is unclear where he was buried. During her '60 Minutes' interview, Turner was asked about her fading ties to America. “I don't think I will go back home," she said at the time.
Turner's tragic demise was announced by her rep Doherty on Wednesday, May 24. "With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model," the rep said in a statement, confirming she “died peacefully” at her home in Küsnacht. "With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music," a post on her official Facebook page added. "All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly."
MEAWW previously reported how Tina started getting "her ducks in a row" and finalized her will in 2021. The 'Proud Mary' hitmaker, whose estate is estimated to be worth $270 million, reportedly feared she didn't have long to live and wanted to ensure everything was in order. She even sold off her music catalog to the record label BMG for a reported $50 million. “Tina knows her time is short, and she wants to make sure her ducks are in a row for her family," a source told Radar Online at the time. "She’s been dealing with poor health for years and knows the end is near.”
The 'Proud Mary' hitmaker is survived by her two children, Ike Turner Jr and Michael Turner. Her ex-husband, Ike Turner, died in December 2007, nearly three decades after their divorce in 1978, per Radar Online.
