Yeah this thread is creeping me out. She’s Oprah. People really like her (apparently only in America though). On the list of Really Rich & Really Famous Entertainment Industry People in America, she’s towards the top. On the list of Actually Terrible Rich Americans, I’d venture to guess she’s near the bottom.
She is on TV in other countries. Wikipedia mentions record numbers of viewers in Saudi Arabia, for instance.
It helps that she’s an overweight woman of color. Three oppressed minorities rolled into one kinda tugs at the hearts of some people.
Trying to avoid dwelling on the grim details of what Saville actually did, while acknowledging that if he’d applied his energies (and his sucking up to the great and good) to business instead, the way Oprah Winfrey has, he might have developed a similar status.
Thanks for that and reminding me how much I miss Roger Ebert. I really liked reading his columns.
There was also a recent thread about how a lot of contemporary pop music (including some produced by undeniably talented musicians) does not use enough exotic chords and modulations. Maybe one could accuse her of squandering her talent, but nobody is being forced to watch her show (or turn on the idiot box at all).
Wow. I didn’t think anyone still used the term “idiot box.” Guess I was wrong.
Here is an excellent summary of her career and beliefs.
And a less flippant one:
Huh? What’s wrong with feeling good about yourself?
Gee, it’s surprising that a bunch of white men can’t understand the appeal of a black woman who is the closest thing to being a “self-made” billionaire that I can think of!
She’s allowed quacks to promote dubious or downright dangerous ideas about health on her show, but at the same time, she did do a lot towards normalizing talking about mental health problems, eating disorders, and sexual assault. When the quick weight-loss gimmick she’d promoted (and used herself) ended up not working long-term, she talked about it on her show and promoted healthier options instead.
Oprah grew up in horrendous conditions and suffered a lot of abuse as a child and teenager. She’s also dealt with the sexism and racism that comes along with being a prominent black woman. When she talked about that on daytime TV, that struck a chord with a lot of women. If those women’s experiences don’t resonate with a lot of us, well, we should probably count our blessings.
So, yeah, she’s filthy rich, she hasn’t always chosen her protégés well, and she’s been living in a wealth-insulated bubble for so long that she’s probably out of touch with the same audience that made her the money. At the same time, she’s held onto her liberal principles, she promotes reading for pleasure, and she gives money to education. If there have to be billionaires, I wouldn’t mind them being more like Oprah than Elon.
For one thing, she’s come to the conclusion that feeling good about yourself is all that you actually need to be successful. Apparently she doesn’t entirely understand how she got to be so successful, either, so she thinks that it was just because she wanted it really hard.
I’m sure many people enjoy being delusional.
But that’s not a problem with feeling good about yourself; it’s a problem about how to be successful.
Just do whatever Oprah tells you to do.
I don’t think it’s all that apparent but that she well understands how much work it took for her to get where she is.
I don’t quite get the hate, but I think she peddled enough woo over the years that it likely did some damage. That doesn’t change all the good she did over the years, but I do think pushing a morally bankrupt system like The Secret onto her audience was wrong.
I don’t get the hate either. But nor do I get the adoration. In certain circles she is basically sanctified. To me, she’s a very successful celebrity. I don’t understand why Americans so idolize their celebs.
Same here. They have more money and resources than most people will ever know - I don’t get why people take advice or give credence to celebs’ ideas on how to be (…happy, healthy, married, a parent, etc.). Oprah in particular, has used her influence as a sort of Midas touch - that’s probably why the throwing of shade here, specifically the recent kerfuffle over her dieting endorsements and advice regarding dieting drugs.
Yeah this. Additionally she’s pretty much unique amongst well known billionaires in that she is actually self-made. She did start from nothing. Given how much society stacks the deck is against people with her upbringing, even those that do find themselves coming into money, what she achieved is particularly impressive.
As well as the obvious race and gender reasons for this there is a big class issue at work with Oprah. The fact the most successful, culturally important figure of the era was not a movie star or a musician, or a director, or a sports star or even a prime time TV star, but a daytime TV presenter! That really irked some people