# VH1 Top Pop Icon - Are they NUTS?!? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 22, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199 "2003-07-22T18:29:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/1 "2003-07-22T18:29:59Z")
[According to MSNBC](http://www.msnbc.com/news/942373.asp?0cv=CB20) VH1 has listed their top 200 Pop Icons and who is #1? Oprah. Oprah Winfrey. Honestly. Oprah. Number One. More of a Pop Icon than say… Superman or Elvis. In other spectacularly stupid moves, Eminem ahead of JFK? Ellen ahead of Spiderman or Batman?!? I’ll be preparing the bomb shelter, the apocolypse is surely at hand. MeanJoe ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/2 "2003-07-22T18:46:43Z")
Talk show host, movie star, producer, gets millions of people to read regularly, sleeps on huge piles of cash… Not a bad choice ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/3 "2003-07-22T18:47:44Z")
If they created a list that made sense, nobody would talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/4 "2003-07-22T18:52:41Z")
I think this means that, if you stick her with a pin, she will pop. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/5 "2003-07-22T19:44:43Z")
What? You mean it wasn’t Molly Ringwald? ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/6 "2003-07-22T20:01:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Attrayant \* > \*\*I think this means that, if you stick her with a pin, she will pop. \*\* Yeah, _that’s_ it. :wally ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/7 "2003-07-23T00:40:12Z")
Yeah, but there will be alot of Oprah By-Product to Spooge all over, if she Pops. ---
**Author:** ![vivian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3e96dc/32.png) [@vivian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivian)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/8 "2003-07-23T01:15:50Z")
I think that was a good choice. She is a perfect example of the American Dream. Come up from nothing to be something worth millions. She’s brave. I admire her. She’s gone through alot in the public eye and have whethered it gracefully. She’s a good example for all women, especially Black women. Her “Be best self” movement has inspired millions everywhere. She;s all about the positive. You guys can make all the fat jokes you want. She’s a great person in my eyes. … i’m done now. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/9 "2003-07-23T13:54:10Z")
**vivian** - I do not question she is a great person, nor have I indulged in the fat jokes. If VH1 offered a list of Top 200 Inspiring People or Top 200 Women of Achievement I would have no complaints about her being # 1. This is about Pop Icons, symbols that identify and define popular culture across gender, race, and I daresay borders. Oprah is not the single most identifiable Pop Icon - not even close. This whole thing smells bad. MeanJoe ---
**Author:** ![vivian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3e96dc/32.png) [@vivian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivian)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/10 "2003-07-23T15:18:15Z")
i know Joe…i just wanted to be emotional. lol ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/11 "2003-07-23T15:27:58Z")
Typical woman! _d&r_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/12 "2003-07-23T17:32:57Z")
Superman should be first. Or the simpsons. Or any franchise/person that’s known to pretty much anyone. Not Oprah. Oprah should NOT be in the #1 spot. She shouldn’t even be on this list. This list is fucked up. Just like the one that has the Top 100 greatest songs list. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/13 "2003-07-23T18:24:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hebesphenomegacorona \* > \*\*Not Oprah. Oprah should NOT be in the #1 spot. She shouldn’t even be on this list. \*\* I can readily agree with the first part, but not the second. I don’t know who should be number 1, my first thought was the Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/14 "2003-07-23T18:45:08Z")
It’s a perfect choice. She covers alot of bases, and she rocks right down to the ground. ---
**Author:** ![hebesphenomegacorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@hebesphenomegacorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hebesphenomegacorona)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/15 "2003-07-23T18:55:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gangster Octopus \* > **I can readily agree with the first part, but not the second.** Actually, now that I think of it, she COULD be on, but at a much lower spot on the list. Or somewhere on the top 250/500 list. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/16 "2003-07-23T18:59:39Z")
Keep in mind, though, that these lists are compiled with VH1’s demographic in mind. Since they shoot for an audience in their 20s, most of the stuff they put on lists isn’t going to be much older than, say, late 80s or early 90s, even though there has been a lot of good music, symbols, TV shows, etc. that are older than that. Ah, well. Robin, who dreams of having her own 70s and 80s nostalgia channel someday. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/17 "2003-07-23T19:48:17Z")
You mean somebody actually expects a VH-1 list of _anything_ to make sense? I’m surprised they did make it a tie between Michael Jackson and Britney Spears. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/18 "2003-07-23T19:48:34Z")
You mean somebody actually expects a VH-1 list of _anything_ to make sense? I’m surprised they didn’t make it a tie between Michael Jackson and Britney Spears. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/19 "2003-07-23T20:03:47Z")
I saw an ad for this show and thought, “Ah—something to avoid like the plague!” Is tbis supposed to be top _current_ pop icon? Tops of the 20th century? Where’s the complete list—all I could find on VH1’s website was bits and pieces. Did it contain Kilroy? Betty Boop? Mary Pickford? Babe Ruth? Barney Google? Vernon & Irene Castle? Or was it one of those dumbed-down AFI-type lists? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vh1-top-pop-icon-are-they-nuts/190199/20 "2003-07-23T20:36:47Z")
Don’t forget Sam Phillips.