Oprah Winfrey Is Terrified Of Balloons, Suffers From Globophobia

Oprah Winfrey might have everything she could ever want or need, but one thing she does not own are balloons.

The 59-year-old actress and media mogul admits in a promotional video for the October issue of O Magazine that she is terrified of the popular party item.

In the video Oprah proclaims:

“I really don’t like balloons, and for my 40th birthday, my entire staff decided to surprise me. And I come downstairs and the entire audience is filled with balloons. Literally, I’m stepping over balloons, having to walk through balloons and I’m so, like, ‘Oh! When is one going to pop?”

When asked by someone off-camera why balloons freak her out so much, Oprah explains, “It reminds me of gunfire… and it really freaks me out, being around balloons.”

Because she was surprised by her staff, Oprah says there was “no way around it, just had to walk through them. And that became a metaphor for facing all of my fears.”

While a fear of balloons is a strange phobia it’s still no more strange than fearing clowns.

Oprah isn’t alone in her fear of balloons; it is a verified condition known as globophobia.

The condition is apparently prevalent enough that Tumblr pages and other websites have been setup to address, mock, and understand globophobia.

Do you think Oprah Winfrey’s fear of balloons is silly?