Oprah Winfrey Didn't Give Viola Davis a Wedding Gift

"She was very, very chill," the How to Get Away With Murder star says of her friend

By Zach Johnson Mar 11, 2016 1:30 PMTags

Maybe Oprah Winfrey thought the gift of friendship was enough?

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Thursday, How to Get Away With Murder's Viola Davis revealed that her friend didn't give her a gift when she and Julius Tennon renewed their vows over Valentine's Day weekend. "Oprah was there! My cast members were there. I was there!" she said with a laugh. "Oprah had a fabulous time. She came with Stedman [Graham]."

Given that Oprah is kind of a living legend, host Jimmy Kimmel asked, "Were you nervous that she would have a good time? Did you have somebody assigned to her to make sure that she enjoyed herself?" Viola made a funny face and told him no. In fact, she recalled, "I sat down with Oprah...She was very, very chill. She looked cute. Everybody had to wear white. I'll tell you, the one person who definitely not fazed by Oprah was my daughter [Genesis Tennon, 4]. There's a picture of her and Oprah where she's just [pouting]…Everybody was just super chill."

"Did Oprah get you anything?" Jimmy asked. "Were gifts accepted at this thing?" Viola clearly did not want to call her friend out on national television, but she did not want to lie, either. "Oprah did not get me a gift," she said. "But you know what? I didn't ask her to give me a gift."

In fact, Oprah might have done her one better. "She invited us to her house," Viola told Jimmy, who said Oprah has "a year" to buy her something. "I said, 'Now, Oprah, Julius and I will be at your doorstep with Genesis, and until you tell us to leave, we are going to be at your house.'"

Viola explained that she and Julius exchanged vows for a third time because she likes weddings. Plus, the first two weren't exactly a dream come true. "The first time we got married with 15 people in our condo. It wasn't big enough. So, three months later we went to Rhode Island with about 100 people, and everybody said, 'You know what? The best photos are candid ones.' We put disposable cameras on every table, sepia toned black and white. Honey, those kids stomped the hell out of those cameras. They took pictures of the floor, of teeth—there were a lot of toothless people at the second wedding. That's another story!" she said. "So, I wanted to have another ceremony that was pretty where I got to wear the fabulous dress with the fabulous food."

To see which gifts Jimmy gave Viola, watch the video above.