Is Oprah Winfrey genuine or a phoney?

She is genuinely phony.

No, wait, she's phonily genuine.

No, wait . . .

She’s certainly a phattie, OP.

Phony. She's a closeted lesbian. Trump has the proof which is why she's afraid to run for president.

Her base turned against her when she started promoting questionable books and movements such as the cult-like "The Secret."

Yes morning talk shows are paid to push celebs and ideas which with they may disagree. However earlier afternoon talk show hosts like Phil Donahue and Sally Jesse Raphael and even Jerry Springer, in his original presentation, would always try to be a little more objective in what they were presenting.

Oprah stopped being a reporter and started being a super saleswoman. Therefore she is no longer completely trustworthy.

Recall when Jerry Springer presented a new movement in AZ which claimed that you never had to die. No joke. Audience was in hysterics throughout the whole hour show. Jerry encouraged the guests to speak and to present their ideas and views. Then said those at home needed to make up their own minds.

Oprah’s associations of late have been concerning.

Her Weinstein loved up photos were not such a good look.

Repeatedly lounging on Geffen’s yacht and proudly boasting about it on Instagram, gave me chills.

Her John of God support was/is worrisome.

And most recently championing Meghan Markle and Harry Windsor has turned many off as the couple’s antics become more and more unhinged.

Billionaire Oprah seems to have devolved.

This is the woman who unleashed quacks Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz on the world. She also gave a platform to Jenny McCarthy and her anti-vaxx bullshit, thereby legitimizing it. She’s not only a phony, but a dangerous one.

She inflicted that charlatan Dr. Phil onto America.

Not just phony, but very irresponsible.

r6 ... great minds!

R4 She's "promoted" Pillars of the Earth, too. What's your point? The Secret is just another self-help book that restates fundamental truths about the power of affirmative thoughts.

R5 Posting and then instantly WW'ing your own post is in poor taste, Markle whacko.

R6 and R7, thanks for adding Dr. Oz and Mr. Phil.

[quote] [R5] Posting and then instantly WW'ing your own post is in poor taste, Markle whacko.

R9, don’t know what you mean about WW. And you’ve just described yourself: “Markle Whacko”.

Oprah, to my knowledge, is the only genuinely self made billionaire on the face of the planet. She did not have a leg up or middle class upbringing in any sense of the word. People often ascribe this label to billionaires like Bill Gates but it's a total myth that he's self made.

As much as I abhor the uber rich, I admire her tenacity and can overlook some of the shenanigans like "Dr." Phil and being instrumental in the Satanic Panic of the 80's and 90's.

R10 Dude I saw the comment as you posted it and then it instantly getting WW'd. You're so desperate for affirmation of your Markle fantasia--- please just reflect.

r11 I'd forgotten about her role in the "satanic panic" bullshit, but I guess a lot of people fell for it, not just Oprah

She will always be my everything and I, the keeper of her secrets and astro glide.

I like her. She could have easily been a lifelong victim of her upbringing, but instead she became a successful billionaire. A self made billionaire which some orange people claim to be.

I’m sure she didn’t handpick Mr. Phil and Dr. Oz and she would probably not give them a spot in the limelight if she knew then what she knows now.

A phoney.

Very carefully and thoroughly insulated from life but feels minor angst at her remove, so she postures as an of-the-people person and pushes forward Dr. Phils and Dr. Ozs because she wants to help the little people feel good about their plight (and make a few bucks along the way; after all, she's craven enough to want to keep the engines of her revenue stream well greased.)

She's a genuine phony.

Well, she single-handedly got Obama elected so his supporters have her to thank for that.

Phattie r2?? 🤔

You can't discount her personal history -- poverty, raped, shuffled between family members. From that background, her extraordinary success has forced her to that crazy "this must be God's will" and she feels she is on the planet for a higher purpose, power, etc...This allows her to justify all her crazy commercialism and how she seems these days to be ping-ponging from theory, to theory, to theory. Her promotion of all the snake oil salespeople -- Oz, Dr. Phil, Joel Osteen -- is really rather criminal though. I thought she had hit bottom last year when she made a video with Ellen going through a grocery store and buying all the "healthy" Oprah products, like Oprah ice cream, and Oprah Pizza. She's just lost touch with reality. That's why she couldn't handle the brief 60 minutes gig. She was forced back into being a journalist, and she can't operate like that.

Genuine. Hard working, ambitious. If she has evolved into something else, so be it. But she was a great example in her prime and her greatest contribution was encouraging people to READ - the Oprah bookclub created readers out of people who might not have picked up a book since high school.

Rather than the usual DL "this will not end well" admonishment, let's go with "this will end predictably."

I love Oprah. She deserves her icon status.

genuinely boring

Fake. Countless clips where she talks to people while walking away and not even looking at them even while holding their hand.

She’s neither. She’s a product. Think of her as a container of Tide or a jar of peanut butter. She’s something you either want or don’t want.

Personally, I love her because she’s nuts and I sort of like crazy people from a distance.

While some of her opinions are questionable or even down right silly, you can’t deny that she’s incredibly ambitious and remains an A-list icon.

Oprah doesn’t do stairs.

I respect the hell out of her for her success, but she really is a phony. This may sound harsh, but she and Madonna are two peas in a pod. They are well past their expiration dates, and much MUCH less intelligent than they think they are.

Genuine or Phony about what? I think she was pretty much what she appeared to be, good or bad. Yes, she inflicted Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil on us. OTOH, she encouraged fraus to read and stuck it to that stuffed shirt, Franzen. She also stuck it to cattle ranchers. She's a control freak but loyal to people loyal to her, which is pretty common among successful business people. She steered her show away from being a freak show which is more than I can say for Donahue's later days.

This is like asking if she eats Gayle's pussy or sucks Stedman's cock.

Black people are getting the worst of Covid. I don't see Oprah helping anyone

Pretentious with a Jesus complex and I'd still prefer her as president.

I loved the true story where she was staying at a big hotel and she ordered up 2 pecan pies and then left the empty pie trays outside her door.

No one is all one thing - she’s neither entirely genuine nor entirely a phony. She’s an incredible self-made success story who has helped many people but has also made many questionable decisions. She’s disconnected from what it means to be a regular person, but she hasn’t always been that way. I give her credit for what she accomplished.

Good point, upthread, about Obama. She helped him get elected.

IMO, Oprah, as a long-time mega-wealthy person, has simply lost touch with everyday people.

She does seem to have somewhat "real" friends. I.e., she's not surrounded by Yes Men and Yes Women. (I do think Gayle can give Oprah constructive criticism and that Oprah can accept it.)

I actually don't understand the hate for this woman. Even now when I hear her talk she comes across as insightful if not slightly out of touch with the struggles of the everyday person. And this may sound shallow, but she always looks impeccable to me. Stylish, colorful, but AGE appropriate. And it takes a certain honesty to know what you can and cannot wear imo.

Secret to her success? She was in the right place at the right time.

I respect her for what she has accomplished. It’s really something. She’s A-list forever.

But she has a real blind-spot for faith shysters. James Frey, the sweat lodge guy, the Secret folks, the concentration camp couple... She spent years flirting with the $cientologists. My personal theory is that she wanted to lead some sort of New Age religion but lost her nerve.

R37, most objective criticism in this thread is around the type of things she’s promoted for the past 30+ years. Some great, some good, some very concerning. I agree that she is a pretty good style icon for her age...and weight(s) lol

R37, she has a great stylist. As you said, she’s always age-appropriate. Stylish and modern, never tacky or too much. The tailoring is perfect, the fabrics luxe, the colors and accessories always just right. I am a nit-picky bitch and I can never find fault with what she’s wearing.

She's American to the core - an outer facade hiding a mess inside, trading on other's misery to fill her own pockets.

She lost me when she appeared dragging around her “lost fat” on her little red wagon.

IMO, her belief in a God is a blind spot. She does seem accepting of religions other than Christianity. She always addressed people as if it's a given: we all believe in some type of God.

The whole Weight Watchers thing was an obvious money grab and chipped away further from her integrity. Food is simply her Achilles' heel and drug of choice - and she's not giving up her macaroni and cheese. Actually, people like her for that (makes her seem human).

I love her!

Cut from the same cloth, if not quite the same pattern, as Ellen.

If the OP needs the "help" of anonymous people on a gossip board to determine whether or not Oprah Winfrey is a "phoney" , then the OP must be mentally challenged.

I’ve always been ambivalent about her but her Me Too speech that she gave at the Golden Globes was off the chain unbelievable and impossible to ignore. I was left stunned by the speech. That was her high water mark for me. It’s all downhill from there.

Both, I think. She started out as an incredibly sincere and genuine person. She then became another delusional rich person. See: casting herself in every film she produces even though she is a weak actor, promoting self help charlatans like Dr.Phil and Dr.Oz, having to put her name on every Oprah's book club choice and lounging on Geffen's yacht. She also used to really *listen* to her guests and as she got richer an more famous she talked over them or interjected her woo woo "learnings".

I used to be fan. Now...not so much.

None if us can imagine how her success and adoration by millions has changed her behavior.

This is your great problem in life OP? Fuck you and even more, Oprah. She is and always has been a piece of shit, a horrible person.

The only person she discovered who actually seems to help people without causing even more damage is that Fix My Life woman.

I enjoyed her earlier shows, when the audience members got a chance to hold the mike and talk and ask questions. But eventually, the only person who was allowed to talk was Oprah. For awhile her shows were just as dirty as Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer. Then one day she decided every episode was going to be about living your best life. The worst for me, though, was when she based a whole episode of her show on her decision on whether to renew her contract. She explained that she didn't necessarily want to continue her show...but that she was morally obligated to do so.

I used to work for this guy who claimed that she hit on his wife (right in front of him).

How did the "Oprah/Gayle are lovers" originate? The jokes make me chuckle, but I don't actually believe them.

I connect with her, in that we’re both sluts for food. She’s my food slut sister.

Yes R41! I've never seen a woman look so perfectly put together without looking boring. And yeah I assumed she had a great stylist but many other famous women have stylists and look horrible. She either picks well from her stylist's options or she's grounded and smart enough to do what they say. Same with her hair and makeup team. I've literally only seen four outfits from the last ten years where she's looked less than great (one of which was the royal wedding, oddly enough)

^^ r37 here

Oprah be so rich, she both bitch!

OMG R53, you reminded me of one of the few Oprah memories I can recall. I'm not sure which year it was. I want to say late 80s or early 90s (but unsure). It was in the early days though, because she was still letting audience members hold the mic. I think the episode was "Guys who date their girlfriend's daughters" (again, unsure). So, there was one guy on the panel, dressed in a grey suit (I think), but he wasn't the most attractive (his hair was thinning and he managed it poorly).

The audience was lit that day. Lots of "oooohs" and "aaaahhhhs," etc. One member got up, grabbed the mic and said, "YOU look like a WET DOG in HEAT!"

I don't know why, but it's seared in my memory. I think I was both mesmerised and confused as to what a wet dog in heat would like, if he actually looked like one, or why that expression even existed.

Also, Jerry Springer arrived in 1991. I wonder if that's when she decided to change the format of her show (whether due to competition or she decided she didn't want to continue to add to the mess she helped create).

I just came across the episode with the Little Rock Nine. Despite her flaws, she still did the work. And, frankly, we need her right now.

[quote]Secret to her success? She was in the right place at the right time.

I was too. IBM chose my shitty, crappy MS-DOS for their new PC in 1981 and that set me up for life.

I don't understand how what she did was so original?

R39, Thank you for expounding on my views and for backing me up vis-a-vis R9.

Went from strong admirer to very disappointed along with many others when she went from champion of the underdog to pushing New Age-type pseudo religious philosophies and ideas none of which were original. Would have felt differently if she had at least promoted the best books and speakers of the self-help movement then so popular.

Compared to Sally Jesse Raphael she's a total phony.

Neither, personally, but "cunning" instead comes to mind, IMO.

That makes perfect sense r39. There is a bit of a cult of Oprah thing going on with her.

I always thought there was something a little disingenuous about Oprah, perhaps because she seemed so convinced of her own “good personhood.” And her track record in picking people to promote as the next big thing has been abysmal. I’m with you, R52...Iyanla might be a little kooky but I do think she’s very intelligent and honest, and really cares about the people she tried to help, even if she is a little unconventional.

She’s both! I love her though! I miss my Oprah afternoons 😰

She is a phony and a closet lesbian.

Out of touch phony.

Oprah does not DO phony!

Total phony!!

I think Oprah is hardworking and got very lucky, then her luck lasted long enough for her to get wise, but I don't say she's smart, just clever like a fox!

My hot take, is that she was being sincere with trying to help people. Because she had childhood trauma, she got into self-help on a personal level -- and then when she realized she had power of influence and a voice, she took it mainstream.

Now you could for sure argue that she has unleashed all manner of fads and diets and even snake oil onto the world. But I do think her heart is in the right place. I think she was feeling in her power as a juggernaut, and spiritually wanted to put self-help out there in the world.

I think she's an incredibly charismatic woman and has had an astonishing life story, although I vaguely remember reading she wasn't as poor as she used to say she was growing up--but she was always black, so she certainly had her battles to fight, that's for sure, and she is an inspiration to many, including me. Ultimately, I think of her fondly. There are a lot worse people in the world, and I'm sure she gives lots of money to Democrats, so it's good to have a really, really rich person on our side.

I think she is planning to revive her talk show.

Phoney.

I hate her.

You are a phony! and YOU are a phony, and YOU are a PHONY, EVERYONE IS A PHONY!!!

Don't forget she also released Rachael Ray the EVOO queen on us. The Food Networks equivalent of Dr. Phill.

She's so gullible. Marianne Wiilamson, Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz... she's stumped for all of them because she liked initially what they had to say, and they've all really done damage to people's lives.

I find it hilarious that she's the spokesperson for (and I believe a stakeholder in) Weight Watchers. She's FAT. They recently changed the name to Wellness Works or some such. I bet she insisted on it, to take the emphasis off WEIGHT (which is really what people are interested in), so it becomes not about losing but about TRYING to lose under some umbrella of "healthy" lifestyle. Sounds like a brand-ruining move to me.

It's like Oprah has to take over, indeed consume, EVERYTHING....

I've always liked her for some reason. I'm sure there are times she's been fake or lost touch with being a normal human being, but I don't think she's some sort of monster. She does seem to mean well.

I miss the old Oprah. The one that would talk about smoking crack. The one that would talk about dating inappropriate men. Especially, the married one who left her and she jumped on the hood of his car as he was trying to leave her. Even her voice is different from the early episodes.

Sigh.

[quote] None if us can imagine how her success and adoration by millions has changed her behavior.

That's no excuse for bad behavior.

r76: I like your version, but I just wanted to change the wording slightly: YOU get a phony and YOU get a phony, and YOU get a phony, and YOU get a phony...

Phony is American English, phoney is British and Australian English (Just looked it up). Canadians use both (funny that).

Oprah did a lot to heal race relations or at least have a dialogue about it. She wanted to be a church person her whole life.

However I think it's pretty clear with what she did to the Jackson's that she is a phoney, but that's show business. Remember that famous live interview with Michael Jackson in the early 90s? Look at how she was buttering Michael up for the interview behind the scenes. So phoney.

r51 Dont be such a nasty drama queen. Nowhere did I say this was a big worry big deal or problem. Just some interesting discussion on an internet forum.

Oprah Winfrey has done a lot of good, far more than her perceived (and too heavily amplified) missteps. She's successful and she's a woman. Get the fuck over it.

She and her whole stable are con artists.

I do think its unconscionable that she hasn't spoken out publicly against Trump. She has no real guts. She's never going to risk the Empire.

R85 Oh no! She tricked a pedophile! Bad example, Phyllis

And Janet shut her down.

[quote] Both, I think. She started out as an incredibly sincere and genuine person. She then became another delusional rich person. See: casting herself in every film she produces even though she is a weak actor, promoting self help charlatans like Dr.Phil and Dr.Oz, having to put her name on every Oprah's book club choice and lounging on Geffen's yacht. She also used to really *listen* to her guests and as she got richer an more famous she talked over them or interjected her woo woo "learnings".

Don't forget she also became *too good* to go out into her audience with a microphone at some point!

[quote]Countless clips where she talks to people while walking away and not even looking at them even while holding their hand.

Post them, please! I can't find any.

This is a stealth deplorable thread!

Oprah is no longer the woman she was when she left news reporting and eagerly began her talk show in Chicago.

Many, many things have changed since that time.

Including Oprah.

Certainly she has been involved in some positive developments: her book club sparking book readers, “shining a light on”* certain subjects and introducing (everyday) individuals into public consciousness.

However, as the majority of the posters here note, she has grown into an oversized egoist with dubious associations and her discernment seems......lacking, at best.

Seems her best days have passed. She might do well to retire quietly “thriving (not surviving)” with her billions surrounding her. And she would do well to refrain from posting gloating insta photos from her best bud, Geffen’s, yacht.

I've always loved this trainwreck clip that went disastrously for both Oprah and Ellen:

R96 What the hell was that supposed to have been? Why is it in existence?

R97 I don't know myself but it looks like Ellen suggested an impromptu walk with Oprah's dogs. Obviously it was planned but going live and with their lack of chemistry it feels like neither wants to be there. Flustered Oprah's complaining about being filmed on the way.

That clip is so cringe I'm surprised Ellen didn't start doing the Ashlee Simpson dance. I'm mortified for her knowing she knew she was on live TV at the time and nothing was going as planned, or in an entertaining way. And WTF was the point of touching up her makeup outside in the dark!?

And this weekend, Oprah is hosting some hoo-ha mystical crap with The Rock and some idiot who teaches meditation. She's lost it.

If she wanted to really help, she'd interview Trump and reveal the madman he his.

So where is the divine Ms. Oprah in all this?

Oprah is calculating. No one can reach the heights she has by being nice all the time. Impossible.

I think she believes her own bullshit, but I think it is bullshit.

I think she really started out as genuine. But money changes you. And she is a prime example of that. She lives in a bubble now. She is not the same person.

Phoney. She’s not particularly talented or intelligent or attractive.

She created and mastered a brand, which she still keeps humming. Speaking of humming, I’d love to give Steadman a hum job.

Why isn't Oprah saying something in this mess?

Sorry- but 'plus' size people annoy me.

She's too busy eating and thinking about positive energy to help anyone else at this moment.

Oprah always gets a pass from me because she is the true definition of an American success story. She came from pure trash. And with a few breaks and some kindness from some folks, she became a phenom. She will always have my respect.

Before she moved away from Chicago I had a couple of brief encounters with Oprah. She and Stedman were regulars at my gym. (He still is. Or was until all health clubs shut down.) She was always very low key and unless you knew it was her, you wouldn't give her a second look. Black baseball cap, oversize black sweatshirt, black leggings, no makeup - she looked like every other middle aged woman in the place. Other times I would see her and Stedman at a little neighborhood restaurant close to her Water Tower Place condo. They always sat at the same table in the back and she was friendly with the staff and to anyone who came up say hello.

Phoney. I remember watching the Oprah show where she interviewed the actors who were nominated for an Oscar. She said the same fake shit to each and every one of them.

Im like r110, I dont agree with everything she's done, like any other celebrity, but Oprah is still an American legend.

Honest question. Was O ever considered a journalist? I remember the trashy talk show that morphed into a lifestyle brand. It never occurred to me that she was supposed to be taken as objective about anything. In hiring Dr. Phil as a "trial consultant" for that stupid beef trial will always be a felony offense. He represents everything wrong with that industry.

r114 being a journalist wasn't Oprah's angle, even if you watched her show only a handful of times would know that. Oprah's "living your best life" is/was the over arching theme of her brand. Young people say that all the time now, and half of them dont even know it originated with Oprah Winfrey.

I think the beef trial was the turning point in the Oprah Winfrey Show. After she weathered that, society and pop culture elevated her from talk-show host to a cultural influencer, and she ran with it. Iyanla Vanzant and Dr. Phil engineered that next "self help" phase of her talk show in the late 90s and people ate it up.

She prolly sits on Steadman’s face for that face smothering fetish.

Oprah is to journalism as Trump is to decency.

She’s obsessed with her poop being “S” shaped and did two full shows about it! 😰

She is a mess. A closet case who is very unhappy despite fresh sheets daily.

When I was on Weight Watchers they would make a big deal when new videos from Oprah were released. What ticked me off is why should I take advice from a woman whose fat ass didn't lose a pound on WW.

Used to love the bitch when she had her talkshow but not so much now

Anyone here read her magazine? Any good?

Her magazine is pretty boring- lots of self help crap interspersed with "buy this amazing beauty product and/or piece of clothing!" Nothing particularly enticing. Though there is the occasional Tips from Oprah's Makeup Artist kind of article, which is what I love. I want to know who does her hair/makeup/clothing, I said upthread she looks flawless and would definitely take tips from her amazing style team

Anyone remember this from the Howard Stern show?

Has Lady O deigned to comment on the recent unpleasantness?

[quote] And Janet shut her down.

And then Janet announced to Oprah she loved doing coffee enemas.

HA HA HA HA HA to all of this.

I want to suck on her huge chocolate pudding titties!

She's an uneducated business woman who's been extremely successful.

That does NOT qualify her to be the next president or to have input into government policy. Look at the shit storm created by another TV personality.

I used to watch her back when I was a little gay. She had big hair and chunky dangling earring and would run up and down the rows of audience members saying "You say what?" and "So what do you think?"

When Oprah 's Book Club came out she was all "ME, ME, ME, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS BUT ME. HOW i WAS VICTIM OF RACISM, SEXISM, WEIGHT PROBLEMS, ADDICTION, SEXUAL ABUSE FROM FAMILY MEMBERS!"

Remember back when Ricki Lake was the #1 show? A week later Oprah had on recovering drug addicts on her show. She suddenly broke down crying and confessed she used to be addicted to crack. Sure, Jan. Lo and behold, Ricki fell to #2 and Oprah was back on top.

r123 her makeup person is truly an artist. Oprah "sho is ugly" without it, I remember when she had the episode of her show when they showed her before and after makeup.

[quote]I think she really started out as genuine. But money changes you. And she is a prime example of that. She lives in a bubble now. She is not the same person.

I still remember Oprah saying one time that money doesn't change you, it simply amplifies what type of person you already were. That's always stuck with me.

[quote]Remember back when Ricki Lake was the #1 show? A week later Oprah had on recovering drug addicts on her show. She suddenly broke down crying and confessed she used to be addicted to crack. Sure, Jan. Lo and behold, Ricki fell to #2 and Oprah was back on top.

Holy shit, I don't remember that! But I just looked it up and sure enough, it happened. I must've been too busy watching Ricki Lake to notice.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd She's Back!

My family used to have a summer cottage on Ricki Lake.

R131 so true. I just wanna know what are those indented lines that run down the sides of her face.,.

And whatever happened between she and Mo'Nique? That's the jello fight of my dreams...

Former student worked for her full-time although she was hired as a part-time worker with no benefits. She had to sign an NDA that forbade her from talking about working at Harpo for as long as she lived. That was 15 years ago and I've found her distasteful ever since.

R138, isn't that pretty commonplace though? I doubt Oprah is the only one who has NDAs.

Screwing your 22-year-old underlings out of health benefits and preventing them from telling anyone about it is not a good look, particularly if you pose as a humanitarian.

I think she is a good person but no one is perfect. I think she does the best job she can do and no, I don't believe she is a lesbian, even if Gail is. Who really cares anyway?

r118 Your kidding me?Oprah discussed her poo on television??

R142 No, her and Dr Oz spent an entire episode talking about shape and color. She’s happy hers is brown and “S” shaped! She talked a lot about her bowels and the episode where everyone at Harpo went vegan for a week as well.

*on

What’s her connection to Weinstein’s scandals?

There isn’t one

Ugh. My ex-boyfriend had a weird....thing about her, kind of a hero-worship obesity-solidarity girlcrush. I don’t really even know, man, it was totally fucked up.

r143 Thanks for clarifying!

She also screwed over everyone with Harpo in Chicago.

For someone so allegedly into spirituality and self-actualization, she sure does worship tacky designer material possessions quite a little bit.

....

It will be interesting to see if anyone changes their opinion of Oprah after tonights interview.

Isn't she one of those "don't talk directly to to me" and "don't look me in the eye" celebrities?

You know, the ones who insist that you speak to someone else and never address them directly, even if they're standing right there in front of you.

I have read that numerous times yes r153

What the fuck do YOU think?!

Oprah is real.

She introduced me to Tolle, which launched my interest in Buddhism. So thank you Oprah.

Phony.

There is a hilarious article about Oprah from WAY BACK in the day, published in Spy Magazine. This was before she became a media empress. She was insufferable and ignorant back then.

The Queen of phony baloney.

Remember her reaction to the OJ verdict?

Just like Amazon, she got too big. I don't abhor her but I don't like her anymore either. "Every hero becomes a bore at last". - Emerson

r160 No what happened?

The bitch is genuinely phony.

I think she started out as an honest reporter/presenter. Then saw how her white lady audience were starved for that mystical wisdom only a repressed minority could know- and tapped into it. Then it became all 'journey' and 'spirit' and 'feeding your soul'.

There's no one in media as powerful as her. You can't get all that by being phoney all the time.

I have worked around Oprah, I have written about it here before, I was with her for many months on one of her projects.

Oprah is real, she is very generous, she has a very finely tuned bullshit meter and she does not suffer fools. If she does not like you, you know it. If she likes you, you know it. She liked me and was very kind to me and many others.

Oprah is a billionaire and is famous on a scale that few humans ever have been.

The bubble she must live in ....

Okra is a complete cunt.

Not if you cook it long enough. And it's good to add tomatoes to introduce some acid.

Phony.

She's certainly no Rolanda Watts.

She's a genuine phony. She learned how to exploit issues, people and the media.

A mix

You are correct R172, she once exploited a teen boy who had been kidnapped and abused for years. It became a big national story once he was rescued. He was on her show with his family shortly after he was found and they were not prepared and never should have gone on the show. The way they were exploited by Oprah was heartbreaking. I’ve despised her ever since.

R149

[quote] She also screwed over everyone with Harpo in Chicago.

Details, please.

[quote]No one is all one thing - she’s neither entirely genuine nor entirely a phony.

I respect her success, and, as R166 attests, I do think she's still basically a good person, but I also get a kick out of her because she's such a pompous, self-important blowhard.

It’s time to attack everyone and everything associated with THAT INTERVIEW!!!

What about CBS? SURELY THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH THEM?!?!?!

According to Gayle, she’s a tiger in the bedroom.

She is genuine, in the sense of a billionaire...... I have friends who are proven friends with O & have said she's great, knows where she's from & appreciates where she is. Laughs at herself more than anyone.....

Remember that personal trainer who helped her lose some weight? He wrote a few books about losing weight...

I wonder if he saw the interview and saw the cow

Your not confused op your a confirmed racist troll. You post anti black threads. You then disguise these with a multitude of hot topic threads. You work with germangayguy and defacto. Both who have stopped using their signature. You are a rightwing troll who has one job. To become a part of the datalounge "family". From what I have been told the three of you have links to the tabloids you keep linking.

You are now so notorious. Black Twitter is after your ass.

It’s striking how no significant dirt has ever come out.

Stfu you haters. She deserves every dollar she makes. I am just happy that a black woman became an institution and billionaire. She can be a bit crazy but so am I. We need more Oprah's and less Republicans.

Over 50% of Datalounge posts are about examining peoples' motives.

Why can't people simply [italic]be[/italic]?

She moved her production facility, devastating the many local jobs and economy attached to it, leaving Chicago scrambling.

R49 for the win; I admire her success story, but at some point, she started thinking her own farts smelled like perfume & it was downhill from there. I appreciate her affinity for Markle - I'm sure she still has to deal with people's attitudes of "what is this large black woman doing at our elite institution?", but if you're a series journalist, you try & be at least somewhat objective

serious journalist, that is

Winfrey will be whatever derives her the most money and prestige.

Though I can see Oprah's attraction to Megs. Both have mondo control and insecurity issues.

When is Stedman going to do the right thing and propose?

She's a genuine phony.

She seems gullible imo.

I'm still appalled that she brought João de Deus to her show. Fine, that was before the allegations but I've always found him creepy and I'm a person that has an interest in the esoteric/spiritual.

Oprah's hair during the royal interview made her look like Bert Lahr in "The Wizard of Oz".

I'm sure she's an insufferable cunt, just like anyone else would be with her $$$ and people kissing her ass for decades.

Phony

Completely full of SHIT! Can you imagine the mess if she ever explodes?!?! They will have to abandon Montecito.

I don't think she's gullible - she can go in hard on people. But I think if she considers you a friend or one of "her kind", it's a different story.

I’ve lived in Chicago most of my life. It’s hard to find anyone here with a bad word about her...apart from typical stuff people say about highly successful people. She’s aloof and somewhat demanding. But after 25+ years working/living here, that’s quite a testament.

My guess is she’s not very warm and fuzzy IRL, but so what. And I like that she’s accepted her weight. She looks good and comfortable about herself.

One final point: she’s truly self-made. Very few people can claim that.

She’s OK in my book.

OP Too stupid to live.

Who has more $$: O or Martha?

A bit of both, OP.

She is, quite genuinely, the queen of the TV interviewers and the Harkles just confirmed that.

Her closeted life is weird to me but that's her business.

Was that her real hair in the interview?

She is great at marketing and self promotion. Maybe she is geniusly phony in some sense.

That's me to a 'T', r203!

Is it even possible to locate her clit down amidst the rolling hills of the rubyfruit jungle?

I loved watching that "Behind the Scenes at Oprah" series they ran the last year the daily Oprah show was on the air. It was very revealing to see Oprah behind the scenes...she seemed unpleasant, dour and not super intelligent albeit very involved when it came to protecting her own self interests.

Oprah has lot to answer for...all those ridiculous twats she promoted on her show...every fucking quack and guru out there, she gave them a fucking pedestal to stand on to promote their horseshit. Which is why you have so many Karens and Anti-Vaxers.

[quote] Oprah's hair during the royal interview made her look like Bert Lahr in "The Wizard of Oz".

It figures she would model herself after a potato chip spokesman:

I lved in Chicago and vaguely remember Oprah having her own local show. I can't stand her, so was not tempted to ever go to one of her daily broadcasts. To each his own.

R202 She's a rich, famous, African American celebrity and media person.

You're unlikely to ever see her without enhanced hair.

Actually, that's probably true of pretty much every celebrity/media star/actress over a certain age and quite a few under.

Men, too.

She is undoubtedly a very talented and savvy woman.

However, she’s got a blind spot a mile wide for hoaxers. I can’t believe the people here who say that she has a finely tuned bullshit detector. How has she fallen for so many?

She is hit and miss. Generally a decent interviewer but she was terrible when interviewing Michael Jackson.

I think she was genuine and is now distorted. Not her fault. A lot of personal baggage but most of us have that. However, she got rich and got surrounded by her people and those people justify their existence by serving and coddling and making life easy and that creates a bubble that infantilizes and distorts. Shit like Oprah doesn't do stairs and my Crash moment.

She's hopelessly lost in her own little world now so when she does intersect with the real world there is always the chance she makes a fool of herself, because that is what she's become. She should probably enjoy it. There's no going back now. Even if she said I want to go live on a farm and be self-sustaining, the farm would look like Martha Stewart's place, the grass would be moved, the soil in the gardens would be remediated, the seeds for the vegetables would be heirloom. The livestock only pedigreed. She can't just live any more. She's past it.

Sort of like Marie Antoinette's mock peasant village, R212?

I used a be big Oprah enthusiast. I truly admired the influence she had over her audience, which was largely for the better. Bringing the beef industry to its knees after saying she'd stop eating meat was pretty impressive. But lately she just seems to go where the money is. Instead of airing her latest interviews on her network she went with who was paying more, Apple & CBS. Sure, fine, very shrewd. But then she completely lost me after she jumped on the Kendi, DiAngelo & Coates trains. Her interviews with white people about white privilege were simply cringeworthy, from her inflexible viewpoint to her accusational nature, especially coming from a woman who's made her fortune from suburban white women across America who invested their trust in her word. Oprah's sudden definitive stance on race seems like it has more to with trend than a genuine reckoning, throwing her audience virtually under the bus. The Megan/Harry interview came across as rehearsed at many turns. And did anyone really think that anything other racism was going to be the big takeaway? For me, Oprah used to represent something higher than everything else around her. But not anymore. She's just created too much contradiction about herself.

Oprah was genuine until she went all new age in the mid 90s. Now she is a phony.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Let us not forget how Oprah screamed racism when Hermès in Paris wouldn’t open the store for her. The store had closed early to set up for some event, and when she pounded on the door to be let in they refused so this self entitled cunt screamed racism.

She’s a goddess and infallible.

While she's being lauded now, I sincerely wonder if in the future she doesn't regret this interview when more info comes about Markle and/or it becomes clear how truly vulnerable Harry is. She's Oprah and she might never admit that, but I'm not so sure this interview will burnish her "Oprah Brand" in the future

I just realized Harpo is Oprah backwards.

Did anyone else get misty eyed when Gayle told Oprah that even though they are friends, that interview was masterful?

R219 I sensed very bad "vibes" around the whole interview. Negative energy, as the participants themselves might say. No good can come of it. Not cool, Oprah.

Oprah must have on some heavy duty Spanx underneath that dress. When she takes them off it’s like releasing water from the dam.

Oprah is God as far as I’m concerned. She is the light and the guide to living our best lives. She has influenced millions of people to improve their life situations, and made an epic change of society for the better. Any that disagrees is just a bitter jaded soul with no chance of redemption.

She’s the best “friend” a girl could ever have!

And a wonderful girlfriend!

Her gullibility has actively harmed the lives of others.

She has an aura like no other! 🔮

Whoopi Goldberg called her Lonesome Rhodes. She is probably a narcissist or has a lot of the traits. I liked her OK until she got into all the religious woo woo crap. When she started talking about The Secret she lost me completely.

She's a great big fat woman that eats a diet of Weight Watchers and cauliflower.

Bitch, please.

Oprah Winfrey has ALWAYS been about merchandising PRODUCTS and consumerism. She's NEVER been any kind of serious journalist. She's a huckster, a saleswoman, and a tabloid reporter.

"This $40 candle will change your life!"

"This new lifestyle guide from this quack/guru will change your life! The book is only $40!!!"

"Eat!" (fancy expensive organic food)

"Pray!" (Because imaginary beings will save your soul! OR, YOU have the inner strength! Just buy this book to find out HOW!)

"Love!" ("Don't you just love this fabulous new home decor! All available at Target and Potter Barn!")

And, as long as you realize that and understand it, she is highly entertaining. She's a charismatic shill of products. But, she's not a fucking saint.

So true r210 Her promotion of Dr Phil shocked me.

Bravo r181 your true fellow Dataloungers salute you.

r210 her bullshit detector works fine around "regular" people, I was talking about the crew and production people.

I've never observed Oprah, or been around her when she is around other well known people or celebrities, except her co stars, and at those times she was preoccupied with work.

[quote] Whoopi Goldberg called her Lonesome Rhodes.

WHAT? Really?? When did this happen?

Did any of you ever see "A Face in the Crowd"?

Because if Whoopi said that, THAT is some severe shade!

[quote]While she's being lauded now, I sincerely wonder if in the future she doesn't regret this interview when more info comes about Markle and/or it becomes clear how truly vulnerable Harry is. She's Oprah and she might never admit that, but I'm not so sure this interview will burnish her "Oprah Brand" in the future

Has this ever been said about any other interviewer about a subject they interviewed?

Oprah got the opportunity to get a hot interview, any broadcast journalist would have been happy to sit down with H&M. You people really love to find reasons to hate on people. This site has gone beyond the fun pointless bitchery and descended into hate filled bile. It's not even fun to read.

Then leave.

[quote]Oprah's sudden definitive stance on race seems like it has more to with trend than a genuine reckoning, throwing her audience virtually under the bus.

It certainly couldn't have anything to do with the fact she's Black.

Shocking as this may be to hear, sometimes you behave because you have no other choice, you do what you know you need to do to live. But once the climate changes and you see there is an opening for you to truly express some of what you couldn't ever before express or be, you take that opportunity because the time is right to do so.

R237 Just block. Bug up his ass.

Her said growing up her best friends used to be cockroaches so no surprise she attracts that throughout her career. Or was it all a lie?

I read that as "Oprah lied about poverty cockroaches."