Oprah Winfrey once gifted new cars to her 276 studio audience. Then they realized one big problem.

Oprah Winfrey is one of the most beloved celebrities in America, and a woman who has inspired millions with her success as an entrepreneur. She is also well-known for showering her guests with extravagant surprises. But, during one episode of her talk show, the star host and businesswoman took things to another level by giving away cars to people in the studio. She handed out keys to brand-new Pontiac G6 Sports Sedans to nearly 276 audience members. The excitement of the public was off the charts during those electrifying moments but when reality kicked in, the audience discovered that even the grandest gifts come with a pricetag.

Each Pontiac G6 distributed that day was worth $28,500, but it turned out that the "gift" wasn't really free. It was part of Pontiac's smart marketing move to introduce their newest model, the G6, as the Grand Am's replacement on Winfrey's show. As reported by Forbes, the entire moment was covered by the company’s advertising budget. One guest, Tiffany Self, said, "Everybody was so shocked that they just didn't know how to respond."

She added, "It was a really good thing that Oprah had [paramedics] on the floor - I'm fairly young, and healthy, and even I felt like I might have a heart attack." But then behind the scenes, the producers broke the news that every person would have to pay $7,000 in gift taxes to keep the cars that were supposed to be free. Self still saw it as a good thing since she was getting a brand-new ride at a 75% discount. She said, "What a coup, there was no other way they could have got that kind of publicity." But for many, that unexpected amount turned their dream giveaway into a financial dilemma as they had two options other than turning down the gift. They could either keep the car and pay the tax, or they could sell it and still pay the tax.

Winfrey wanted these cars to go to people who truly needed them, so her team carefully selected the audience. For the grand reveal on her 19th season premiere, she first called 11 deserving teachers to the stage and surprised them with brand-new cars. Then, she teased the crowd with one final giveaway—a single lucky audience member would win the last car by finding a hidden key. Each person was handed a sealed box to build up the suspense. But when they all opened them at once, every box had a key. As reported by Market Realist, that was Oprah's iconic “You get a car!” moment on TV.

Meanwhile, producer Lisa Erspamer spoke about the tax and said, "It was devastating after, because ‘gift tax’ is a thing, and it’s always a complicated thing when you’re giving stuff away." She added, "But we paid for the sales tax and the registration for each car, and we told the audience after that if they didn’t want to have to pay a gift tax, they could actually take cash for the car. And because we didn’t pay the gift tax, people complained to the press, and that was devastating." As reported by The Independent, she revealed that her team poured their hearts into creating this unforgettable TV moment, driven by a genuine desire to do something good.