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American singer Tina Turner
CNN
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As the world mourns the loss of music icon Tina Turner, one of “The Best” singer’s most famous friends, Oprah Winfrey, shared a touching tribute on her website and social media.
Winfrey, who devoted parts of her signature daytime talk show to Turner in the late ’90s and early ’90s, said in a statement on her Instagram Wednesday that the influential pop culture figure was “a role model not just to me, but to the world.” .”
“She once told me that when her time came to leave this earth, she wouldn’t be afraid, but excited and curious,” said Winfrey, adding, “I’m a better woman, a better person, because her life is mine. She was indeed simply the best.”
Turner’s family told CNN in a statement that she died “peacefully” at her home in Switzerland on Wednesday after suffering from an undisclosed “long illness.” She turned 83.
Her turbulent life with Ike Turner and their rise to fame was depicted in the 1993 biopic “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” starring Angela Bassett, who told CNN in a statement Wednesday that “Turner helped others who are in fear lived showed what a beautiful future filled with love, compassion and freedom should look like.”
At a concert in Phoenix, Arizona on Wednesday night, singer Lizzo performed a spirited rendition of “Proud Mary,” also saying she didn’t let herself cry over Turner’s loss just yet, choosing instead to “celebrate what an incredible legend Tina Turner is and always will be.”
“As a black girl in a rock band, I wouldn’t exist without the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Lizzo added on stage.
As people showed support by placing flowers on Turner’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, rock legends of Turner’s era, including Ringo Starr, Brian Wilson and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger took to social media to share their feelings.
“I am so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner,” Jagger continued Twitter, adding that Turner was “inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me a lot when I was young and I will never forget her.”
In a statement shared with CNN, singer Roberta Flack paid tribute to Turner by remembering her “meteoric energy on stage” during their 1971 “Soul to Soul” tour in Ghana.
“My friend, Tina, thank you for inspiring us to always be everything we are meant to be, regardless of life’s challenges. A woman without boundaries. You will always be my hero,” Flack said.
On CNN This Morning Thursday, rock legends John Fogerty and Paul Shaffer reminisced about Turner.
“Tina was the best. I cherished her for years before she recorded ‘Proud Mary’ and was lucky enough to tour with her with my band Creedence (Clearwater Revival),” Fogerty, who wrote the hit, told CNN. “She was amazing on stage. I was so proud that essentially “Proud Mary” was the song that catapulted her from a little bit in the middle of rock and roll to the heights of pop music. At that point, I was just really happy that she had finally become a household name.
“She was like a hurricane, like a tornado, like a dynamo,” Shaffer said of Turner’s presence on stage. “No one had ever seen anything like it.”
The White House said Turner’s death is a “huge loss” shortly after the news broke on Wednesday, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying Turner was “a music icon who had many stages , many great moments in her career.”
Celebrities from all corners of the industry continued to post tributes throughout the day on Wednesday. were among them Mary Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Halle Berry, Keith Urban and more.