A woman in the audience when Oprah gave everyone cars recounts a striking comment the host told them off-camera: 'None of you deserve it, but you are worthy of it'

• Candi Davis was in the audience for one of Oprah's 'Favorite Things' giveaways, and was gifted a Volkswagen.
• 'It was my favorite day of my whole life,' she said in a viral TikTok series, 'even though I have two kids.'

A woman in the audience during one of Oprah Winfrey's iconic giveaway episodes is providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the emotionally-charged experience.

Candi Davis, a 48-year-old TikToker from Illinois, told Insider she was in the audience in November 2010, when Oprah gifted everyone Volkswagen Beetles, as well as items from her "favorite things" list at the time.

As Davis tells it, after the two-and-a-half hour taping, audience members were emotional, and some felt undeserving of the haul.

One by one, they went to meet with lawyers to iron out legal issues, like taxes, on the items, Davis said. (Unlike Winfrey's inaugural "You get a car!" giveaway in 2004, when word emerged that winners would be responsible for paying taxes on those vehicles, the show said it would be covering them this time around.)

As those details were being sorted, Winfrey apparently "kicked off her gold high heel shoes and sat down on the edge of the stage to talk to us," Davis told 2.7 million viewers on Wednesday.

"She said, 'I know you don't feel like you deserve any of this stuff, and you don't — none of you deserve it,'" Davis said. "'But you are worthy of it, and I want you to remember that.'"

While TikTok viewers appreciated this rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the legendary talk show and its famous host, some felt it was a back-handed compliment.

Davis clarified in a follow-up video that Winfrey was well-intentioned and delivered the monologue after hearing audience members say they felt unworthy.

The episode, which aired on Nov. 11, 2010, also featured audience members being gifted iPads, diamond earrings, UGG boots, Coach purses, Le Creuset cookware, cashmere sweaters, and a Nordstrom gift card for a bra fitting.

As for the cars, Davis said winners were allowed to choose between four colors: red, silver, yellow, or blue. And they were able to pick them up at their local dealerships roughly a year after the taping.

More than a decade later, she said she still has the vehicle. She also told Insider she keeps in touch with roughly a hundred fellow audience members in a Facebook group.

"It was my favorite day of my whole life," Davis said on TikTok, "even though I have two kids."

Insider has reached out to Oprah and her team for comment.