Can somebody explain Oprah Winfrey to non US-Americans?

Cafe Society
81

From the link in post 47:
Actress, Playboy model, and pseudoscience peddler Jenny McCarthy has been an ardent anti-vaccine advocate. She helped propel the discredited British doctor Andrew Wakefield, who has argued that vaccines cause autism based on his own fraudulent research, to fame. (McCarthy even co-authored an anti-vax book in 2011 with Wakefield, titled Callous Disregard.) In the media, she’s claimed that vaccines gave her son Evan autism, and that she was able to “cure” him through a special diet and supplements.

Of course, the notion that vaccines cause autism has never been supported by science. But Oprah gave McCarthy a vast audience via her TV show in 2007. Science journalist Seth Mnookin, who covered this meeting of the minds in his book The Panic Virus, reported that Winfrey “praised McCarthy’s unwillingness to bow to authority, her faith in herself, and her use of the Internet as a tool for bypassing society’s traditional gatekeepers.” Here’s an excerpt from the interview transcript:

MCCARTHY: First thing I did — Google. I put in autism. And I started my research.

WINFREY: Thank God for Google.

MCCARTHY: I’m telling you.

WINFREY: Thank God for Google.

MCCARTHY: The University of Google is where I got my degree from. … And I put in autism and something came up that changed my life, that led me on this road to recovery, which said autism — it was in the corner of the screen — is reversible and treatable. And I said, What?! That has to be an ad for a hocus-pocus thing, because if autism is reversible and treatable, well, then it would be on Oprah.

Days after that Oprah appearance, McCarthy was invited on Larry King Live and Good Morning America to spread her anti-vaccine message even further. Between the three shows, she reached between 15 million and 20 million viewers with her anti-vaccine message, Mnookin estimated.

To this day, the episode featuring McCarthy, “Mothers Battle Autism,” is featured on Oprah’s website, without any correction or acknowledgment of the problems with McCarthy’s claims.

Also from here:

82

While I believe some criticism is warranted, her popularity among women is probably one of the reasons she’s had so much hate directed at her. We really seem to have a good time knocking things that are popular among women.

83

Some more on Oprah’s anti vax programming:

84

That’s an interesting POV. I don’t agree because not one of those three factors is or has been inherently advantageous to a majority of people who have hoped or are hoping for commercial and financial success in the United States in which I reside, but one believes what one believes.

I rarely watched her show but I respect the heck out of what she has accomplished.

85

…she’s been popular around the world for decades. She was called the most powerful women in entertainment. The Oprah Winfrey Show was the highest rated daytime talkshow in American TV history. And it was syndicated worldwide, so it isn’t as if only Americans know of her.

The reaction of the Colbert crowd was typical of what happens when talk-show people make cameo appearances on other talk shows. Look at the crowd when Jon Stewart (literally) pops up on Colbert:

Its like when Tobey Maguire appeared in No Way Home. Its a cross-over event. And the talk-show crowds go wild for that stuff.

86

Yeah. That’s rough. And I didn’t know the details as I was definitely not watching Oprah in 2007. It’s sickening, really, because autism is neither caused by vaccines nor is it reversible and treatable, it’s an inextricable part of who somebody is. Sometimes I think the #actuallyautistic crowd can get a little too strident in their views, but when you’re facing ignorance like that, it’s hard to blame them. Just reading that transcript makes me want to throw a shoe at a TV screen.

I can, however, recognizes both her accomplishments and her failures at the same time.

87

And seems to irrationally anger others as well.

I’ve never understood the love for her, or the hate either. I’m not part of her target audience, so she doesn’t really appeal to me, but I don’t bear her any ill will either. She seems to do a lot of good with her money and platform relative to a lot of celebrities, and she seems pretty level-headed (she endorsed John Fetterman vs. Dr. Oz in the PA midterms, for example), so I can’t work up any hate for her.

88

She’s no more “famous for being famous” than Brad Pitt, or George Lucas. Its just her chosen media, namely daytime TV talk shows is not particularly well respected. But at its height it reached more people than anything Brad Pitt or George Lucas did.

89

"People are talking " with Richard Sher. She became corrupted. Comparisons to Martha.

90

I think Oprah did a great job of climbing out of her shitty life, it’s just clear she doesn’t care about anyone else and will fuck over anyone to stay rich.

91

One word: Bees!

92

I disagree. It’s not an insult. She became so famous that she transcended her chosen media. I don’t think I’ve seen a minute of her show but I know all about her. I know about Steadman. I know about Gayle. She’s been a frequent talk show monologue reference for decades. Her name can be used as shorthand for many things. She’s not famous for being a talk show host. She’s famous because she’s Oprah and everyone knows who Oprah is.

I saw the OP is in Germany. I do know Oprah has some level of fame at least in the UK since I’ve heard her referenced multiple times on the Graham Norton Show.

93

Now. But that’s exactly the same reason why Brad Pitt and Taylor Swift and any other major celeb are famous. Because people know who they are. Saying someone is famous “just for being famous” is 100% an insult and clearly the poster who used that phrase meant it as an insult. It means they did not become famous through anything meaningful.

I have never seen that praise used in any matter other than an insult.

94

I do see your point but I think Now is what’s important now. I know Brad Pitt was in 3 different movies that come out last year. I know Taylor Swift is on a record breaking tour, is Times Person of the Year and is on seemingly 50% of the football games I watch. I can’t tell you anything Oprah has done in the last decade. But I put Oprah on a whole different level than any actor or singer. She’s famous because she’s Oprah. She’s an icon. That doesn’t take away what she did for years to get there.

While I was typing this I remembered the Prince Harry interview so there was one thing I know she did within the last 10 years. I didn’t watch it but I know it happened.

95

To give an idea of what Oprah was up against: my S-I-L had aunts in either Alabama or Mississippi (sorry, can’t remember which anymore, blame advancing age) in the 1980s, when Oprah was taking off. The station affiliate refused to carry her show because she was Black, and they believed the locals wouldn’t abide it (likely correctly).

96

I guess I think of Oprah (to the extent I do think of her) as a terribly successful businessperson. I’m not sure how many other similarly successful businesspersons are as widely admired and beloved as Oprah.

Sure, I respect that she overcame advesity. But surely she is not alone in having accomplished that? Just (likely) the most successful such person.

I’ve never been one for her brand of (apologies for lacking better words) extravagant support for others’ emotions. But it clearly appeals to many. While she has obviously kept an eye on the buck, and has supported many dubious causes/theories/personalities, even I am not so cynical as to assume it is all an act in pursuit of wealth.

She certainly has had the opportunity to interact with a great many capable and accomplished people. And she does not seem “stupid.” So I imagine some considerable knowledge and insight can be garnered through such access.

97

Yeah, she is definitely not a “famous for being famous” person. I grew up in Chicago and witnessed her rise to fame in the 80s. She did it in spite of being overweight, black, and female, not because of it. What a silly notion. Those were not typical celebrity assets, especially at that time.

Yeah, she can be a bit loony tunes with some of her guests, but I don’t particularly care. She’s an excellent businesswoman; my friends who have worked with her (one was her personal photographer) had nothing but good things to say about working with her.

98

This is par for the course for daytime talk shows and I doubt it has a great deal to do directly with her popularity.

99

There was the time she walked out of a showing of Interview With The Vampire because “I believe there are forces of light and darkness in the world, and I don’t want to be a contributor to the force of darkness.”

IWTV (the movie) is remembered more as a Tom Cruise vanity project than anything particularly gory, but drama queens gotta drama.

100

I was never a big fan of her show, but I admire her business acumen. She looks amazing right now and I hope she enjoys all those nice new clothes she has surely been buying. I know I would.