Oprah Winfrey reveals the secret reality behind the iconic moment she declared 'You get a car!' as she gave away 276 cars worth $7M on her show

The unforgettable ‘You get a car!’ moment on The Oprah Winfrey Show was actually an accident.

It wasn’t scripted, and it was never supposed to happen.

But it did, and like great TV does, it became iconic.

Not only that – and some people may not know this – it’s the reason why Oprah wore her famous red suit.

How the ‘You get a car!’ moment really happened

More than two decades after its broadcast, the 2004 season of The Oprah Winfrey Show remains one of most iconic, mostly because of the famous ‘You get a car!’ catchphrase.

The image of the media mogul, dressed in a red suit, wildly shouting ‘You get a car!‘ to a hysterical audience has been immortalized in pop culture.

It became a meme back when no one knew what a meme was.

But it all happened by accident.

Oprah has said, on more than one occasion, that it had never been planned.

The initial idea for the $7 million stunt was far more modest.

Producers intended to bring 11 people onto the stage to receive brand-new 2005 Pontiac G6 sedans, saving a 12th vehicle as the grand finale surprise.

However, as the 12th car was introduced, chaos erupted in the studio because multiple audience members had misheard the announcement and believed they all had won.

Oprah had to think on the spot

Oprah recalled seeing two women sitting next to each other, both convinced they were the sole winner.

She told Vanity Fair: “Someone next to her said, ‘No, I got it. I got it’.

“So I thought we’re gonna have pandemonium with everybody thinking, ‘No, I’m the one that got it’.”

Realizing the situation was inches away from a PR disaster, Oprah made a split-second decision: instead of correcting the crowd and disappointing hundreds of people, she expanded the stunt to gift a car to all 276 audience members.

We’re sure the show producers must’ve been thrilled, anticipating the inevitable extra dollars this would cost.

Production staff actually had to work straight through the night assembling gift boxes containing the car keys.

But it was worth it: the moment became iconic, and even though it did cost a lot of cash, it ended up becoming free publicity for the show.

Also, and most people may not know this, the ‘You get a car!’ moment is also the reason why she wore the red suit.

“I was like, ‘I’m going to wear the red suit because the red suit matches the red bows’. And that was the best decision. That red suit. It has carried us through a couple of decades now,” she told The Times of India.