# Can somebody explain Oprah Winfrey to non US-Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** talk-variety-show\ **Created:** [December 18, 2023, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778 "2023-12-18T15:36:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/1 "2023-12-18T15:36:12Z")
I think the title is clear, but just to make sure [have a look at her](https://youtu.be/IVDL9aSqywo?t=465) making a surprise entry in Stephen Colbert’s Late Night Show (7:45, if the link does not lead you directly there). He seemes thrilled. The audience is exhilarated. Everybody seems to love her. How come? Are we missing something in Europe? ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/2 "2023-12-18T15:42:58Z")
In my opinion - you’re not missing anything. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/3 "2023-12-18T15:43:19Z")
You’re not missing anything, she was a daytime talk show host with a largely female following who has been in the business a long time. Colbert runs a nighttime talk show so there may be some overlap with a somewhat more gender equal following. So he was able to get a pretty famous guest who doesn’t always go on other shows, but and ultimately a studio audience is encouraged to get hyped even if they’re not specifically a fan of the guest. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/4 "2023-12-18T15:43:30Z")
She’s a well-loved American TV personality. Do you have well-loved TV personalities where you’re at? I can see her stuff not making it outside of the USA. Her original show was just on in daytime syndication. Now she has her own TV station (Own) and a magazine (O) and is an actor and producer (currently producing the new The Color Purple). In England, people might be as excited to see Carol Vorderman or Claudia Winkleman (although they’re not quite the “media moguls” that Oprah is). ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/5 "2023-12-18T15:43:34Z")
American women treat Oprah like British women treat James Corden. On top of that she was a black woman who made it on her own despite the odds and she shared many of the struggles many woman face (weight issues, glass ceiling). I think she’s completely out of touch with mortals because of her excessive wealth for going on 30 years. But that is me. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/6 "2023-12-18T15:46:35Z")
She is a popular talk-show host who used to date Roger Ebert. If you are asking how she has turned her initially obscure programs wildly popular, she is the opposite of reserved and has a fine-tuned a formula to enthuse and exhilarate audiences. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/7 "2023-12-18T15:47:05Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > I think she’s completely out of touch with mortals because of her excessive wealth for going on 30 years. > > But that is me. And me! ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/8 "2023-12-18T15:54:57Z")
Yeah I think the thing your missing is how huge a cultural influence daytime TV was in the 1980s and 90s in the states. If (as Oprah was) you were able to dominate that timeslot, you were the biggest cultural figure in the country, by far, more than the biggest movie star or musician. She was smart enough (despite, coming from humble beginnings) to parley that into a media empire worth _billions_ far more than almost any other cultural figure (and more than most business leaders). As a business person I’d place her far ahead of dumbasses like Musk who started with millions from their family and just lucked there way into billions by being in the right place at the right time. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/9 "2023-12-18T15:55:44Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > She is a popular talk-show host who used to date Roger Ebert. Very briefly. They went on two dates. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/10 "2023-12-18T15:56:58Z")
Oprah started from relatively humble beginnings and is now worth about £2.8bn. She has achieved this through monetizing her populist appeal in all sorts of (usually self-aggrandizing) ways. She’s been in a couple of movies and put in decent performances, and has managed to encourage reading in the dayime-television-viewing audience, even if the reading material hasn’t been particularly rigorous. On the other hand she platformed Dr Phil and Jenny McCarthy, which I may never be able to forgive her for. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/11 "2023-12-18T16:02:46Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > American women treat Oprah like British women treat James Corden. I’m not sure most British women have any particular adulation for James Cordon. It seems to me his biggest thing so far has been a US talk show which hardly any of us saw. In the UK, he’s mainly just the guy from Gavin and Stacey. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/12 "2023-12-18T16:22:39Z")
She once gave brand new cars to her entire studio audience. A stunt like that sticks in the mind. [You get a car!](https://youtu.be/pviYWzu0dzk?si=PqorJq4gsj-0QzHz) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/13 "2023-12-18T16:24:32Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > On the other hand she platformed Dr Phil and Jenny McCarthy, which I may never be able to forgive her for. When you’re going to shill random pseudo-experts out to demonstrate how influential you are, you’re going to pick a rotten tomato once in a while. She has at least gotten people to read great novels who were otherwise overlooked or regarded as ‘boring’, although I do my damnedest to avoid buying a book with her golden seal of approval stamped on a quarter of the jacket. She is mostly benign (aside from promoting the occasional huckster) and has thus far resisted appeals from her adoring fans to run for public office, probably as much because she has more influence and acclaim as a celebrity than she would in any elected office. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/14 "2023-12-18T16:24:48Z")
Did anyone refuse to take it? I for one do not need a second car. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/15 "2023-12-18T16:26:32Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Are we missing something in Europe? She’s essentially royalty. Think of it that way and you’ve got it. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/16 "2023-12-18T16:28:05Z")
In recent years I’ve come to wonder about how much harm Oprah did over the years by giving people like McCarthy, Dr. Oz, and Dr. Phil a platform. But as Shakespear put it, “The good [that men do] is oft interred with their bones,” and I don’t think it’s entirely fair to look at Oprah’s legacy as entirely negative. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an entire episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, I just wasn’t the target demographic being either in school or at work when the show aired. But she was so big you couldn’t help but hear about what happened on her show from time-to-time. Just looking at Wikipedia we have her episode about race in 1987 when she traveled to Georgia to a town that hadn’t had any black residents for nearly 75 years. I think this is the one where one resident said something like, "Not all black people are . She had Ellen DeGeneres on her show after she came out. And while that doesn’t seem like a big deal now, it garnered Oprah a lot of hate back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/17 "2023-12-18T16:40:30Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > She’s a well-loved American TV personality. Do you have well-loved TV personalities where you’re at? You might be thinking of Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, aka Jimmy Savile. As far as Oprah, I never cared for her. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/18 "2023-12-18T16:40:59Z")
Somehow or another she was able to “connect” with a sizable portion of the American public. I think primarily female. She was able to convert her popularity into tremendous financial success, and she consistently championed liberal causes. Her message has generally been consistently positive and affirming. My impression is that she has always surrounded herself with very capable professionals. I’ve never gotten the appeal, but she seems to have nailed the formula as well as anyone. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/19 "2023-12-18T16:45:46Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > Very briefly. They went on two dates. So which one gave the thumbs down? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/20 "2023-12-18T16:48:42Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > She is a popular talk-show host who used to date Roger Ebert. Is that how you think of her and think she should be described, or is that just a fun tidbit you know about her and like to throw out there? Cuz if the former…oof. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778.md?page=2)