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Archive: Oprah Winfrey
The Oprah-fication of America
Oprah's on! And on and on and on... (Getty Images) Okay, we've talked about Oprah Winfrey here before. And either you people are humoring my distaste for the doyenne of daytime or the average Celebritology reader is so far out of the mainstream you'd send Bobby Trendy into cardiac arrest. What has inspired my doubt, you ask? The continued creep of Winfrey's influence into popular culture. Someone -- a lot of someones -- it seems, is watching, emulating, buying. How else to explain O's unchecked sprawl into TV, satellite radio, film, magazines, books, Broadway and politics? The latest front in this woman's seemingly unstoppable ubiquity is cable television. Discovery networks yesterday announced the creation of OWN -- the Oprah Winfrey Network, set to launch next year in approximately 70 million homes in America. From the AP story: Winfrey envisions the programming dealing with issues such as money, health, weight,...
By Liz | January 16, 2008; 10:30 AM ET | Comments (0)
Highbrow: Weighing the Oprah Effect on Politics
Barack Obama and wife Michelle (left) with Oprah at an August Fundraiser. (Reuters) "My money isn't going to make any difference," Oprah Winfrey told Larry King prior to an August fundraising party where the daytime talk show queen helped to raise $3 million for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. "My value to him, my support of him is probably worth more than any other check that I could write." Last week, Winfrey formally declared her intention to hit the campaign trail in support of Obama. First in Iowa, then New Hampshire and South Carolina -- all key states early in the election run-up. Mused The Post's own Gene Robinson: "Now we're about to see whether the "Oprah effect" can do for Barack Obama what it did for Leo Tolstoy." If Yahoo stats are any indicator, the Oprah factor may already be moving the needle for Obama. Searches on the...
By Liz | December 5, 2007; 10:42 AM ET | Comments (33)
An Oprah-Induced Pre-Holiday Hangover
Last November, Oprah Winfrey scrapped her annual "Favorite Things" show in favor of promoting charitable works. Saying she wanted audience members to feel the magic of giving, Winfrey gave each audience member $1,000 to donate to the charity of one's choice. That was then, this is now. Yesterday, Oprah released the 2007 "Favorite Things" list meaning we need no longer fear braving the retail fray without a roadmap again. Instead, we'll descend on our local big box retailers (as early as midnight Thursday in some cases) en masse and armed with an Oprah-sanctioned list of camcorders (O likes the $799 Samsung), kitchen gadgets (if a $4,000 fridge is a gadget), boots (nothing but Uggs for Oprah) and this troubling ensemble that resembles nothing so much as some kind of Oprah cult uniform (handbook not included). Not on the list? $20,000 worth of designer shoes (sorry Jessica Seinfeld). Bah, humbug. Here's...
By Liz | November 21, 2007; 10:43 AM ET | Comments (0)
Love to Hate: Oprah's Shoe Fetish
I have not been an Oprah Winfrey fan for years. I think she's self-absorbed, disconnected from reality and holds way too much sway over the minds and tastes of her target demographic. So, my disgust wasn't too difficult to summon when I saw this story about Jessica Seinfeld's $15,000 thank you note to Oprah. Seinfeld -- wife of Jerry -- appeared on Oprah's show last week to promote her new cookbook "Deceptively Delicious." With the book now comfortably perched on the bestseller list, Mrs. Seinfeld sent Oprah a thank you gift of what is estimated to be $15,000 to $20,000 worth of shoes. Here's a look, along with a peek in Oprah's closet: Yes, Jessica is undeniably guilty of Gilded Age behavior here; I expect a velvet-liveried monkey delivered the gift on a recommissioned Concord. But by sharing a glimpse of Seinfeld's largesse with her audience -- along with a...
By Liz | October 16, 2007; 10:42 AM ET | Comments (104)
From the desk of Oprah Winfrey...
(AP) Dear Barbara, The enclosed photo is not one of my favorite things. Why? It's not because of the satanic robe/drapery with which you've obscured your rapidly shrinking frame. It's not even because I'm afraid your proximity will somehow taint me with "View" stank. It is because you are squeezing my cheeks in a highly annoying manner. In short, don't ever touch me again. I don't care if you've interviewed Castro, no one touches O. Except maybe Gayle Stedman, but trust me, there is no photographic evidence. - Oprah p.s. Rosie is doing a fab job....
By Liz | November 14, 2006; 11:58 AM ET | Comments (0)
Oprah: I'm Not Gay
Winfrey and King. (AP) Oprah Winfrey and best friend Gayle King address rumors about their close relationship in the August issue of O Magazine, denying they are gay: "I understand why people think we're gay," Winfrey says. "There isn't a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women. So I get why people have to label it -- how can you be this close without it being sexual?" King goes on to say that they would not hide a gay relationship if one existed. One more mystery solved. No word yet on why Winfrey keeps foisting King on a public that clearly ain't interested....
By Liz | July 17, 2006; 02:57 PM ET | Comments (0)
