# Oprah on Letterman tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677 "2005-12-02T03:29:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/1 "2005-12-02T03:29:42Z")
Anybody planning on watching? I guess we won’t be hearing any more jokes at Oprah’s expense now that they’ve made up. One of my favorite Oprah jabs was when Letterman had Barry White do the Top 10 list. I think the topic was something about things that sound sexy when Barry White says them. One of them was “big ass ham”. Another was “Opraaaaah!” in Barry’s deep voice. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/2 "2005-12-02T03:38:50Z")
I’ll be recording it. It might be a keeper. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/3 "2005-12-02T03:57:53Z")
My husband is sleeping. I’ve been given instructions to wake him for the show. Wouldn’t miss this one for the world. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/4 "2005-12-02T04:11:00Z")
I’d completely forgotten – thanks for the reminder! And with 20 minutes to spare! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/5 "2005-12-02T05:21:50Z")
I have been seeing this crop up in the news of late. Can anyone give me the sound-byte version of what the problem between them was in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/6 "2005-12-02T05:25:38Z")
Aw man, I missed it! Completely forgot; will have to keep an eye out for the rerun. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/7 "2005-12-02T05:31:16Z")
It’s been very sweet. Her gift to him was especially funny. Unfortunately it’s been ruined by the teeth grinding voice of Bonnie Raitt. (no offense to fans, it’s a personal thing) ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/8 "2005-12-02T09:23:48Z")
Enjoyed it. Oprah looked unbelievably corseted. You could see the boning in her dress and she seemed physically uncomfortable. But she looked damn good. Poufy and frilly but good. Who knew that brown and purple work so well together! They were pretty upfront about the “feud” and that this was a reconciliation show. But once moving beyond that it was a warm but serious interview. Oprah repeatedly voiced amazement that Dave was asking her serious, thoughtful questions. I think Dave was about to stumble into a bad place with his comment about whether Africa is going to implode (not how he phrased it but…) and Oprah rescued him nicely. The gift was funny. I watched that Oscars live, and the “Oprah…Uma” thing was painful then and painful now. Am I huge fan of either of these folks? Not really. Dave used to be funny to me….some years ago. I do watch Oprah once in a while, because in spite of her self-serving platitudes she does bring truly eye-opening topics to the fore occasionally. I had never heard of fistulas before, you know? Anyway it seemed clear to me that Dave and Oprah come from very different worlds, both background and today, in spite of being successes in the same profession. It was interesting watching the show. Life changing? No, but interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/9 "2005-12-02T09:26:23Z")
So what’s this gift people are referring to? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/10 "2005-12-02T11:16:49Z")
A picture of her and Uma. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/11 "2005-12-02T12:04:58Z")
Good show. Poor Oprah didn’t know what she was getting into. Who knew Dave would go for the personal and sincere interview instead of the chucklehead stuff. It was also very classy of him to walk her to her premiere. ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/12 "2005-12-02T15:15:05Z")
I Thought Letterman really “handled” it well. He led Oprah into serious stuff and guess what? I “got” Oprah for the first time – As a guy who never , ever has watched an entire Oprah – tho of course I saw the things like the TC couch jumping clips, Amarosa and her weight thinning/growing, heard of the Book club & Stedman & Movies etc – not feigning ignorance of who she is here – just not a fan/viewer. But she came across as strong, confident, compassionate, both a little bit self-depreciating and a little bit more full of herself – but I liked her. I get for the first time why someone would say “Well, Oprah says …” I have always liked Dave – I think this ‘feud’ bothered him more than he let us realize. Sincerely. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/13 "2005-12-02T15:23:14Z")
Several weeks ago, Dr. Phil (an Oprah protege, I gather) was on Dave’s show. They talked frankly about the “feud.” Dave said he loves Oprah and admired the charity works she has done. Phil said he would try to intercede to help sort things out. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/14 "2005-12-02T16:14:30Z")
Bah. Letterman is slipping badly and the constant drum beating re: Oprah’s visit got tiring after minute two. I think the vast majority of people reacted to her visit with a well-deserved: BAH! ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/15 "2005-12-02T16:47:52Z")
She seemed a little uptight during the entire thing (beginning with the whole “feud? what feud?” disingenuousness at the very start), and when he talked about Africa there were a couple of questions she didn’t answer – I didn’t feel that she was “saving” him, I felt that she was avoiding topics she maybe hadn’t thought about before. But not gracefully, or with any humour (even during the story about her childhood glasses it seemed like she hardly smiled). I’ve never seen her show, so maybe that’s just how she is, but I didn’t turn off the TV feeling all that great about Oprah Winfrey. I like the job Dave did, though. > [@Twiddle](#): > > Oprah repeatedly voiced amazement that Dave was asking her serious, thoughtful questions. Frankly, I thought that was kind of bitchy of her. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/16 "2005-12-02T20:19:51Z")
I thought this was one of the most brilliant episodes of a late night talk show, ever. From the giant poster of Oprah that Letterman kept handy leading up to the appearance, to the reservation of Tony Danza as emergency guest/host in case either of them walked out, the build up was great. Then when Oprah finally appeared, Letterman curve-balled the audience (although certainly not Oprah) by having a serious, warm-hearted conversation. Finally the big-deal production of escorting her out of the theater and across the street to her show. This, people, was first-class television! Brilliantly planned, flawlessy performed. ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/17 "2005-12-02T21:20:50Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I thought this was one of the most brilliant episodes of a late night talk show, ever. > > From the giant poster of Oprah that Letterman kept handy leading up to the appearance, to the reservation of Tony Danza as emergency guest/host in case either of them walked out, the build up was great. > > Then when Oprah finally appeared, Letterman curve-balled the audience (although certainly not Oprah) by having a serious, warm-hearted conversation. Finally the big-deal production of escorting her out of the theater and across the street to her show. > > This, people, was first-class television! Brilliantly planned, flawlessy performed. You definitely have a future in PR. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/18 "2005-12-02T22:40:57Z")
Could someone please explain to me, a youngster, the whole Oprah-Uma gag and the rivalry between them that supposedly transpired afterwards? I’ve read about it on the net, and I know that at the 94 Oscars Oprah was there and Uma was too (for Pulp Fiction), and that Dave was the host and he did a joke about ‘Oprah, meet Uma; Uma, meet Oprah,’ and that that joke was long, awkward, and incredibly stupid- but what ‘rivalry?’ The whole thing, as alluded to above ^^^, was just a promotional PR thing for Dave (and Oprah). And I try to avoid bs television :p. Let’s not sit around and fawn at something that, as was stated above, was just an orchestrated career move; this is the 21st century, not the 1950s. We know better. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/19 "2005-12-02T22:56:00Z")
> [@andrewdt85](#): > > but what ‘rivalry?’ The whole thing, as alluded to above ^^^, was just a promotional PR thing for Dave (and Oprah). And I try to avoid bs television :p. > > Let’s not sit around and fawn at something that, as was stated above, was just an orchestrated career move; this is the 21st century, not the 1950s. We know better. I can’t say whether there was a “rivalry” but these are the facts. Oprah has never appeared on The Late Show. The last time she appeared on any Letterman show was 1989 when he was on NBC and neither of them was as big as they are now. Letterman was known to have extended numerous invitations (not the joke ones he did on the air) for her to appear. Oprah told Time magazine in 2003 that she didn’t want to go on Letterman. So yes, it was an orchestrated career move – with her Broadway production of **The Color Purple** opening across the street, I don’t doubt she would have appeared on a talk show hosted by Hitler. But it was still great TV. ---
**Author:** ![andrewdt85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71e660/32.png) [@andrewdt85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewdt85)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677/20 "2005-12-02T23:07:37Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I can’t say whether there was a “rivalry” but these are the facts. > > Oprah has never appeared on The Late Show. The last time she appeared on any Letterman show was 1989 when he was on NBC and neither of them was as big as they are now. > > Letterman was known to have extended numerous invitations (not the joke ones he did on the air) for her to appear. > > Oprah told Time magazine in 2003 that she didn’t want to go on Letterman. > > So yes, it was an orchestrated career move – with her Broadway production of **The Color Purple** opening across the street, I don’t doubt she would have appeared on a talk show hosted by Hitler. > > But it was still great TV. Right- but the quote from Time was said because she felt awkward about appearing, and I thought it was because of the ‘Oprah, Umah’ thing at the Oscars (along with, I guess, not having appeared on his show since they both became huge)? So what was the ‘rivalry’ all about? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oprah-on-letterman-tonight/333677.md?page=2)