Thursday, May 6th, 2010
For many women, Oprah is some sort of Godlike creature. Her overcoming-the-odds story of success has inspired millions. I know plenty of young women who aspire to Oprah-level ‘greatness’. I used to be one of those women, but over recent years I’ve come to realise something: I actually can’t stand Ms Winfrey.
Yes! Ahh, it’s such a relief to say it out loud. I’ve mumbled it before but you’re treated like you’re going against some sort of sisterhood if you point out that Oprah’s kind of a douche.
At first it was little things, like that stupid way she introduces people (the shouting, the drawn out words), or the fact that she is a truly awful interviewer (does she ever actually let someone finish a sentence?). But then I noticed the ongoing theme, the dark side of Oprah, her raison d’etre: Misery.
Oprah loves misery, she revels in it and spreads it like a virus. You do not exist to Oprah unless you have a sob story. What odds have you had to overcome to get where you are? Does it involve abuse or incest? No? Then f**k off! Any chance she gets to hammer the point home that she was abused, she takes it. No one knows hardship like Oprah, in her view.
When the author, James Frey revealed that he lied in his book ‘A Million Little Pieces’ (about his supposed drug and alcohol addiction), Oprah was outraged. Why? Sure, partly because he hadn’t been all the way truthful, but probably mainly because – dare I say it – he trumped the Queen at her own game. He made up some misery and sold it back to her like an East London market trader. Eat THAT Oprah!
Why did she love the film Precious so much and jump on it as a producer? Because of the heinous story of abuse, of course. She wants to delve into it, get as graphic as it can get. As sick as it is, it seems she feeds off it. When former child star, McKenzie Phillips revealed stories of drug abuse and having sex with her father, Oprah all but fell over herself to get her on the show. Oh the joy of delving deep into this woman’s murky world of misery. Watch the dollars roll in. And the most sickening one of late would be Oprah’s insistence on having actress Mo’Nique’s brother on the show. The brother who openly admits he abused Mo’Nique. The actress herself hasn’t spoken to him in years and said she has made her peace with the situation, so didn’t appear on the show. But hell, we can’t deprive Ms Oprah of the opportunity to revel in someone’s murky past.
While most hold Oprah up as a champion for stripping the taboo out of these delicate subject matters and making it okay to talk about, she’s really doing something much more sinister. She’s glorifying it. Yes, people who are going through such heinous experiences should be encouraged to talk about it, but with the right people. Seek out a counsellor or a support group. Oprah packages it and sells it to us for entertainment and that’s actually just quite sick.
When her show ends in 2011, I, for one, will be glad to see the back of it.
Tags: misery, oprah, rants
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