# Could Oprah Winfrey's popularity survive her coming out of the closet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653 "2009-01-16T20:18:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/1 "2009-01-16T20:18:41Z")
[Inspired by a comment **Annie X-mas** made in post #32 of this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=502108) I don’t know whether Ms. Winfey is a lesbian or not; nor do I especially care. But there’s always been rumors. Stipulating, for the sake of argument, that she is at least bisexual, could her current influence survive her publically admitting that (given that she’d be seen as having lied about it for 20-some years)? I know, I know – Ellen Degeneres is gay. But Oprah’s audience is a leetle different than Ellen’s, and her influence is much broader (not to mention weirder). ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/2 "2009-01-16T21:15:50Z")
I think it could. Most of the people who are going to be super offended by such a “revelation” are probably not Oprah fans anyway. She is friends with a lot of Hollywood celebrities, her shows feature gays & lesbians, and she emphasizes tolerance of other lifestyles. Plus, the whole Gail thing is a pretty well-known rumor. A heartfelt confession and a few tears go a long way in Oprahland. The majority of her fans would get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/3 "2009-01-16T21:20:16Z")
I think at least 50% (and probably closer to 70-80%) of people would react with “So what?” or “Who cares?” If you suddenly find out that someone you knew for years is gay, does that change them? In short, the peoole who matter wouldn’t mind, and the people who mind wouldn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/4 "2009-01-16T21:22:37Z")
You know, that would be a really interesting situation. Because she’s built up such a huge following, body of work, etc, my question would be - why on earth would it even matter? How could anyone who’s a fan (and I’m completely neutral, have never seen her show nor read her mag), who has said “man, I love her show, I love the way she discusses topics, I adore her humor, I respect her take on humanity,” blah blah - how and why would that change simply because she says “I’m gay”? Probably taking this on a tangent it doesn’t need to go, but that baffles me. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/5 "2009-01-16T21:25:38Z")
No, I don’t think so. I thinks she has a gazillion fans among uptight suburbanite women who think they are liberal because they watch Oprah. I think they would be squicked out. Either that, or a gazillion uptight suburbanite women will suddenly realize they are lesbians too. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/6 "2009-01-16T21:26:17Z")
I don’t think people would care. They love her. It might surprise some, but I don’t think her public image would suffer. Huh…I knew people suspect she’s gay, but I don’t get that vibe at all from her. Then again, my gaydar is pretty much non-operational. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/7 "2009-01-16T21:55:12Z")
Doesn’t she have a boyfriend, Stedman or something? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/8 "2009-01-16T21:58:03Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Doesn’t she have a boyfriend, Stedman or something? The general rumor is that they are each others’ “beard”. I’d cite the 30 years without a wedding thing, but then again we have Kurt Russel and Goldie Hawn and neither one of them is even rumored to be gay. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/9 "2009-01-16T21:59:24Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > The general rumor is that they are each others’ “beard”. I’d cite the 30 years without a wedding thing, but then again we have Kurt Russel and Goldie Hawn and neither one of them is even rumored to be gay. There’s also Siegfried and Roy. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/10 "2009-01-16T22:04:49Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > No, I don’t think so. I thinks she has a gazillion fans among uptight suburbanite women who think they are liberal because they watch Oprah. I think they would be squicked out. > > Either that, or a gazillion uptight suburbanite women will suddenly realize they are lesbians too. 😛 Jim, I was asking what the Teeming Millions thought would happen, not what Bob Guccione thinks. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/11 "2009-01-16T22:08:47Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > The general rumor is that they are each others’ “beard”. I’d cite the 30 years without a wedding thing, but then again we have Kurt Russel and Goldie Hawn and neither one of them is even rumored to be gay. Goldie and Kurt have children together. It might have been on Oprah’s show, but she had Goldie as a guest and as a surprise beamed in Kurt, who was on location in Australia or somewhere, shooting a movie. Goldie was so thrilled to see Kurt, touching the screen and cooing at him. It was really kind of cute. I just assumed Oprah (didn’t she put a child up for adoption when she was a teenager?) never wanted children because she was focusing on her career. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/12 "2009-01-16T22:20:04Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I just assumed Oprah (didn’t she put a child up for adoption when she was a teenager?) never wanted children because she was focusing on her career. The research I did only mentioned a birth at 14, a son who died soon after. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/13 "2009-01-16T22:24:28Z")
I knew she had a child, but I didn’t know he died. Thanks for the clarification. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/14 "2009-01-16T23:23:30Z")
Are you kidding? half of the Oprah acolytes I know are lesbians. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/15 "2009-01-17T00:00:24Z")
Of course her popularity would survive. It survived her support of Obama, rather than Hillary. But I would be surprised. My gaydar is extremely accurate, and I get no vibe from her whatsoever. Stedman, on the other hand . . . . ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/16 "2009-01-17T03:12:41Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Of course her popularity would survive. It survived her support of Obama, rather than Hillary. > > But I would be surprised. My gaydar is extremely accurate, and I get no vibe from her whatsoever. Stedman, on the other hand . . . . I was going to say the same thing. Exactly. Wow. I have had a best friend since I was 12. We are thisfreakinclose. I love her to pieces. We have been roomates, and we go on more vacations together than I go with my husband. We practically ‘date’, because we go to concerts, events, dinners, movies together, and we really don’t want to hang out with anyone else, including our mutual friends. All of that said, I have never found her sexy, in the slightest. A pretty girl, yes, but never sexy. And I find plenty of women sexy! Just not her. And folks always think we are gay. Strangely, I find a similar kind of energy coming off Gail and Oprah’s friendship. Except they seem to have a _richer_ kind of friendship…by about a few billion dollars. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/17 "2009-01-17T03:17:08Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > There’s also Siegfried and Roy. Siegfried and Roy are each others beard? Huh. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/18 "2009-01-17T03:21:53Z")
Certainly not. Just think how many fans Liberace would’ve lost if they had figured out he was gay 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/19 "2009-01-17T04:18:19Z")
Oh, sure. I suppose Fred Phelps would picket Harpo Studios, and some folks would be squicked out, but I think the overwhelming majority of her fans would stand by her. On another note, I think some of her appeal is that she is not particularly “sexy.” Don’t get me wrong, she cleans up nicely, but I’ve never seen Oprah looking hawt. Most people don’t think of Oprah having sex, with Stedman or anyone else. Now, if she came out and started dating Gail? There’d be some blowback, I’d think. But it would be pretty stupid. There’s at least one other Black woman who has a lot of folks saying she’s gay, but it hasn’t affected her popularity at all: Queen Latifah. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653/20 "2009-01-17T04:21:29Z")
Shortly after Ellen was on the cover of Time with **Yep, I’m Gay** , she was on Oprah’s show. Oprah interviewed her for a bit, asked her why she was coming out now, etc, and then opened up the show to audience comments/questions. A lot of women reacted negatively, ranging from “abomination” to “why bother telling us? It doesn’t matter, nobody cares” etc. I suppose it would have been easier for Oprah to side with her audience, but she never did. She flung her full support behind Ellen. I know a lot of people mock her book-club, but I read a number of them and they featured gays and lesbians–and those characters didn’t even have to die in the end! She’s always been in vocal support of the GLBT community. I think if her viewers had a hard time with lesbians, they would have already turned off the television in disgust. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-oprah-winfreys-popularity-survive-her-coming-out-of-the-closet/481653.md?page=2)