# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/21 "2023-12-18T16:49:14Z")
> [@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. In actuality, that’s probably true. But a large part of her success is her knack for making people feel like she’s in touch with them. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/22 "2023-12-18T16:59:54Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > 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. Cumming, Georgia. A while back I posted a picture of the hanging tree I’d drive under on my way to hike Sawnee Mountain. They cut it down a only few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/23 "2023-12-18T17:07:35Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Did anyone refuse to take it? I for one do not need a second car. They didn’t actually refuse but thy pointed out that most of the recipients were low income and could not afford the income tax on the cars, about $6000. If they kept the cars they would be bankrupt. (Pontiac G6 ?) The cars were, in fact, donated by GM from their advertising budget They ended up paying the gift taxes as well but not the income tax as I recall. ---
**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, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/24 "2023-12-18T17:07:41Z")
She reportedly selected an audience who expressed some need for a reliable car. But also it was a taxable event, so they might’ve been golden handcuffs for some of the audience. > **[20 Things That Really Happened When Oprah Gave Away "Free" Cars](https://www.hotcars.com/22-things-that-really-happened-when-oprah-gave-away-free-cars/#oprah-s-audience-had-exclusive-first-rights)** > > Keep scrolling for 20 things that really happened when Oprah gave away cars. Edit: link keeps mentioning a gift tax though, gifts are not taxable by recipients so I don’t think they understand what a gift tax is. Either GM paid gift taxes and therefore audience did not owe taxes, or it was a prize and the audience paid tax on “other income” and GM did not. ---
**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, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/25 "2023-12-18T17:08:12Z")
[This Jalopnik article](https://jalopnik.com/that-time-oprah-gave-276-people-free-cars-that-actually-1838106001) covers how the “winners” were left on the hook for taxes on the cars. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/26 "2023-12-18T17:14:28Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Do you have well-loved TV personalities where you’re at? Yes, but they don’t have a lot of scope, even if they have the drive and initiative, to build their own production and other businesses on the back of their initial TV presence. They may set up a book club, launch an exercise video, get themselves into an all-purpose celebrity for various reality shows, and someone like Saville managed to parlay himself into a national treasure to pursue his own, somewhat different, interests - but then again, the market in the UK is just that bit smaller. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/27 "2023-12-18T17:16:52Z")
I’m currently dealing with the blowback from 50 coworkers whose annual salary is \>$200,000 each because payroll deducted taxes from their paychecks on $250 in gift cards that they received as prizes in a contest. These are Visa gift cards, pretty much as good as cash, not gift cards to PF Chang or The Paper Store. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/28 "2023-12-18T17:17:25Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > _On the other hand she platformed Dr Phil and Jenny McCarthy, which I may never be able to forgive her for._ Not to mention Dr. Oz. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/29 "2023-12-18T17:17:50Z")
It was a prize - but a lot of people don’t know the difference between a “gift” where the giver might be liable for taxes and a “prize” which is income and taxable to the recipient. Of course, people also don’t know that gift taxes don’t actually get paid until millions of dollars of gifts have been made. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/30 "2023-12-18T17:26:04Z")
I’m pretty sure Oprah is the only one who has done this in the US. At least to the extent that Oprah has- Dr Phil was involved in _The Doctors_ and Judge Judy has been involved with a couple of courtroom based shows in which she does not appear but that’s really it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/31 "2023-12-18T17:31:43Z")
If Colbert was “thrilled” to see her, that’s pure celebrity brown-nosing. She’s one of those people who are famous for being famous. She got rich by pandering to the lowest common denominator with her feel-good-about-yourself bullshit. The woman is a menace. > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIGwYN99JLk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIGwYN99JLk) ---
**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, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/32 "2023-12-18T17:33:07Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > 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. > You might be thinking of Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, aka Jimmy Savile. Not good analogies as neither of them were primarily famous as daytime TV presenters. A better analogy would I think be Lorraine Kelly. Though only if she’d manage, back when broadcast daytime TV was still a big deal, to build her fame to the point where she wads _the_ daytime TV host who was synonymous with the genre (so if you thought of daytime TV you thought of Lorrain Kelly), and then build that into a multi-billion pound media empire. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/33 "2023-12-18T17:38:38Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > > [@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. Supposedly on one of those dates, he told her how much money he and Gene Siskel made on their syndicated show, which prompted her to pursue syndication, and that was the beginning of her vast fortune. Later, she produced other talk shows, movies and so forth. I’m pretty sure she’s worth north of a billion dollars. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/34 "2023-12-18T17:39:40Z")
Agree with most of the comments but wanted to add - I never understood Oprah’s show’s appeal to women, as most of that audience in the US are married or divorced mothers who are likely not well-off, which is the opposite of Oprah. ---
**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, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/35 "2023-12-18T17:40:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > You might be thinking of Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile, aka Jimmy Savile. > [@PatrickLondon](#): > > someone like Saville managed to parlay himself into a national treasure to pursue his own, somewhat different, interests You two are being extremely naughty. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. > [@XOldiesJock](#): > > Not to mention Dr. Oz. I’d forgotten he was one of hers. That’s even worse than Dr. Phil. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’m pretty sure she’s worth north of a billion dollars. $2.8bn, according to the interwebs. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/36 "2023-12-18T17:42:42Z")
Wow. Last I checked, it was “only” about a billion. I don’t think she’s had her own show for a long while, though that doesn’t seem to have hurt her ability to make money. ---
**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, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/37 "2023-12-18T17:44:49Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > > [@DPRK](#): > > > > She is a popular talk-show host who used to date Roger Ebert. > > Very briefly. They went on two dates. > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > 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. Her love life is not actually important. What is relevant is that he supported and encouraged her decision to syndicate her show, which was a significant step in establishing her worldwide popularity. I realize I made it sound like she was his creation or something, which is not the case at all. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/38 "2023-12-18T17:48:08Z")
In spite of the fact that Oprah is pretty much a self-made woman, is deeply in touch with _her audience_, and is extremely generous with her enormous wealth, some people despise her. She does inspire controversy. There is an implication that if you’re an intellectual, well-educated, highbrow you’ll automatically dismiss her and regard her with utter disdain. I don’t understand exactly why she triggers such a wide range of reactions from people. \<_scratches head_\> ---
**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, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/39 "2023-12-18T17:51:18Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > a significant step in establishing her worldwide popularity. Not to nitpick on a detail\*, but the 🌍 is bigger than the 🇺🇸, which was the point of this thread. \* Well OK, I’ll do it. ---
**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, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/40 "2023-12-18T17:52:18Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Supposedly on one of those dates, he told her how much money he and Gene Siskel made on their syndicated show, which prompted her to pursue syndication, and that was the beginning of her vast fortune. Later, she produced other talk shows, movies and so forth. I’m pretty sure she’s worth north of a billion dollars. > [@](#): > > “I don’t know what to do,” she told me. “The ABC stations want to syndicate my show. So does King World. The problem with syndication is that if your show isn’t successful, you’re off the air in three months. The ABC stations own themselves, so they can keep you on. Which way do you think I should go?” > > I took a napkin and a ballpoint pen, and made some simple calculations. > > Line 1: How much I made in a year for doing a syndicated television show. > > Line 2: Times 2, because Siskel made the same. > > Line 3: Times 2, because Oprah would be on for an hour, instead of half an hour. > > Line 4: Times 5, because she would be on five days a week. > > Line 5: Times 2, because her ratings would be at least twice as big as “Siskel & Ebert.” > > I pushed the napkin across the table. Oprah studied it for 10 seconds. > > “Rog, I’m going with King World,” she said. > > With simple high-school level math, you can now figure out how much Oprah Winfrey makes in a year for her show: > > Step 1: Estimate how much I made in a year, 20 years ago. > > Step 2: Carry out the other multiplications described above. > > Step 3: Times 20. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778.md?page=3)