Over 20 years after Oprah’s iconic Pontiac giveaway, Cynthia Erivo got to return the favor…sort of

Over 20 years after the iconic Pontiac giveaway on Oprah, Cynthia Erivo got to return the favor….sort of.

You may recall that Oprah Winfrey once gave away free Pontiac G6s to members of her audience way back in 2004.

It was a legendary moment in television history, and has lived on in meme form ever since.

Cynthia Erivo was obviously a fan, and got to return the favor while hosting the Tony Awards.

EXPLORE SBX CARS – Supercar auctions starting soon powered by Supercar Blondie

How Cynthia Erivo took Oprah by surprise during the Tonys

Cynthia Erivo was hosting the 2025 Tony Awards, which ‘recognizes excellence in live Broadway threater’.

The actress was having fun with her hosting responsibilities, coming off the success of Wicked.

For her role as the witch Elphaba, the 38-year-old had secured herself a nomination for the Best Actress Oscar.

Now, it was her turn to be on the other side of the award show equation, as she was hosting.

A ton of celebrities were in the Tony audience, including Oprah herself.

The 71-year-old media personality was there to present the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical.

That ended up going to Nicole Scherzinger for her role in Sunset Boulevard, for any musical theater buffs reading.

But with Oprah sitting in the audience, Erivo couldn’t help teasing her a little.

At one point in the show, Erivo stopped beside her and asked her to check under her seat.

Under there, the former TV host pulled out a gold box filled with snacks, such as Junior Mints and Haribo Gold Bears.

But that wasn’t the main draw. Because there was also a little toy car.

“You get a car! I’ve been waiting all night to do that!” Erivo said.

What happened when Oprah’s show gave each audience member a free Pontiac?

There’s obviously a backstory to this gag.

Back in 2004, you may recall that Oprah hosted her own show.

You may have heard of it – it ran for 25 years and made her a billionaire?

That last sentence was obviously sarcastic.

At any rate, she decided she would treat each member of her studio audience to a Pontiac G6.

Needless to say, the audience went wild and jumped around in delight.

All while this was happening, Oprah was pointing and yelling, ‘You get a car! You get a car!’

Admittedly, gift tax would cause a little controversy afterwards, but that’s a footnote in this memorable moment of TV history.

It’s not the only time that the TV show did a big car giveaway.

In 2010, audience members got Volkswagen Beetles – and one woman still has hers to this day.

With all these car giveaways, it was overdue for Oprah to get her own – even if it was on the smaller side.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie