Oprah, Revisited

Blogs are wierd.

As I've said before, I get numerous google searches for "I Hate Oprah" because of a post I wrote off the top of my head almost 2 1/2 years ago in which I did not say I hated Oprah, but complained about her fans.

Last week, two interesting things happened in that regard. First, the "I hate Oprah" searches and views of that post skyrocketted. Second, a reporter from the Houston Chronicle contacted me for an interview regarding the post.

I believe the reporter, Corilyn Shropshire, is freelance. She said that the story might be in the Sunday (Dec. 16th) edition of the paper, or it might not. I'm kind of going to use this post as just a place holder for reference. If or when it is published, I will put a link to it here, but thought I would cut and past the whole email interview because I am always afraid in the minor amount of press I get that I will be taken out of context. So, just for kicks, here is the interview:

Hi Lisa, Sorry to keep bothering you, but I figured that if you received an email from my Houston Chronicle email address ( I’m in the office today) you might believe that I’m legitimately a reporter and feel compelled to agree to an interview. Again, I’d like to take a few minutes of your time to discuss what prompted your Oprah posts ( James Frey?) two years ago and what the response and discussion was like for you. Were your commenters mainly Mommy bloggers like yourself? Do you think that there are others – who might fit the Oprah demographic as snuggly as you do – who dislike Oprah and her “minions” as you call them? ( great word by the way). After this, I promise to leave you in peace. But this topic – a story about the often unheard-of Oprah detractors, is timeless and a good one. Thanks so much! Please give me a ring. Best, Cori

Hi, Cori, Oh, the Oprah minions! I'm half afraid that if I do this interview they will come after me! That post was written over two years ago and was basically in response to the Brooke Shields/Tom Cruise couch jumping thing. It was comments I was getting from what I call couch "oprahologists", or people who diagnose other's mental state based on Oprah or Dr. Phill style psychology. The post is still the main google searched and most read post on my otherwise low key, low readership site. "I hate Oprah" are the search terms that I get constantly. Since the Barack Obama thing, the posts views have gone up dramatically based on those search terms. You may or may not have gathered that I am deaf. It would be better for you to email me your questions and I'll see if I can shoot off quick and coherent answers to them. I don't do well with phone interviews. If you want to do it that way, then I will check back in a few minutes and try to get it done in a timely manner. Do you have a specific deadline, timewise? If so, let me know. Thanks, Lisa

Her Questions:

By the way, your missives on why you find Oprah and her fans irritating were a great read.  I figured your blog would be pretty popular. Hopefully, after my story runs, this interview will have been worth your time. 

Thanks, I'll try to answer these as well as I can:

I wonder if that means anything that – the "IHateOprah" search term has become increasingly popular since Oprah's been out stumping for Sen. Obama?  Do you have any figures on the dramatic increase to your site? What do you make of the post views rising? 

I usually have been getting about 1-3 google searches for "I hate Oprah" a week. In the past several days, it has been more like 20-30 a day. I can only speculate that it might have something to do with the fact that she has been in the news as she has been supporting the campaign of Sen. Obama. I personally do not have a problem with celebrities getting involved in politics, but I know that some people do and perhaps this is why the increase in searches occurred. What I did find interesting, regardless of my feelings about the candidates, is that Oprah and Obama could fill up an entire stadium, while the Clinton's could not pull that off on the same day. Oprah obviously has far more pull than a former president.

Can you briefly describe the response you received from your blog post – were there a flood of comments?  It seems like it went on – for two years…

Most of the comments were supportive. Many people made comments like "Oh, I'm so glad someone else feels this way." I finally closed the comments on the site due to comment spam. I have been closing all of the old posts for that reason. But I still sometimes get emails. There have been some emailers/commenters who have been extremely critical of my opinions in regards to Oprah. I find most of these funny because they kind of prove my point. It seems like some Oprah fans cannot handle any constructive criticism about her or her following.

Why were you moved so much to write about it?  Had you always felt that way about Oprah – perhaps a bit leery of her omniscience and the Tom Cruise/Brooke Shields thing compelled you to speak up? 

I never really thought that much about Oprah. I really don't hate her or think she is a terrible person, but sometimes she said things I disagreed with or did things that rubbed me the wrong way. I think that when someone is on the air with as much exposure as Oprah, that is only natural. But then I discovered it wasn't. It seemed like you couldn't get away with disagreeing with Oprah or saying something critical about some of her actions. Increasingly, I found that discussing Oprah in any analytical way was almost taboo among her fans. I had some relatives that didn't seem to be able to think about any issue beyond what Oprah had said about it in her four minute long show segments. And this was irritating to me.

How did you feel about the comments on your blog?  Are there any that stand out as particularly interesting or infuriating or agreeable?  Is this the most popular post of your blog? What about any of the women who commented on your blog – do you think they might have interesting things to say about their thoughts on Oprah?

I'm generally happy about comments on the blog. It was nice to know I wasn't alone in this. As far as some of the negative comments, I mostly got a kick out of them because the people that commented in support of Oprah were exactly the ones I was referring to. And I'm happy to take criticism, that is only fair on a blog complaining that Oprah fans can't take criticism. The only one that bothered me was the one that wanted sources and references for some of my complaints. It bothered me because I should have done that and didn't, yet never had time to go back and do it. It would have made it a stronger and more accurate post.

Why do you think that Oprah's so-called "minions" need a television figure to act as their spiritual guide, sister-friend, Mom, cheerleader and confidant?  And why do so many women in "your demographic" as you describe it, white middle class mothers, respond to it? You don't? So, why do they? 

I'm not entirely sure why she has such a devoted following of white, middle class mothers. If I were to take a guess, I think it is because people in our society (and especially mothers of young children) have become increasingly isolated and lack community and any real respect and value for the work they do. Mothers are often shut inside all day without the network of support that women had in the past or that many women enjoy in other cultures. Oprah is like a girlfriend that comes into your home and has coffee with you while you fold laundry, but unlike a girlfriend, she is filtered through TV PR and imaging, so she seems infallible and above reproach. And lately she has imaged herself into some kind of "spiritual angel mother high priestess" thing. I guess she doesn't affect me that way because I see the PR job for what it is and I think everyone has strengths and weaknesses and no one is perfect or should be immune from accountability and constructive criticism.

It's not sour grapes, it seems that compels people like yourself to speak up – it's something else – what is it?

It's not sour grapes. I admire her success and I think she has talent and does many good things. But I think it is dangerous for anyone to obtain the amount of power and influence where they are no longer questioned and held accountable for things they do or say that might be hypocritical or possibly of questionable ethics. I think  this amount of money, power and influence may insulate her from being in touch with the real needs of the people she supposedly advocates for. I think that anytime anyone is followed without question as if they can do or say no wrong, the followers lose--or voluntarily give up--some form of their own self-determination and free thought. That is never a good thing.

Did you coin the term "Oprahologists?" It's brilliant; I'd like to quote you on that in my story. As well as quote your blog posts in my story. 

I might have! I don't know if I've heard anyone else say it. It's the study of Oprahology, a branch of Psychology.  This came from listening to [family members that I based the story on] way of putting people down by taking small bits of gossip and extrapolating it into some kind of psychiatric diagnoses based on Oprah's latest favorite guru or troubled guest.

I have ideas about the answers to these questions, but I'm just the reporter, it's up to the opinions of people like you to make a difference. 

I will say that I am NOT a reporter and that blog entry was really written with very little "professional" planning and no research. I would not vouch for the accuracy of everything in it. I just wrote it off the top of my head.

Please forgive my ignorance. I read your bio and as you mentioned it's clear that you have hearing and vision impairments – I'm not familiar with the technology – so how do you watch Oprah?    Thanks again for your time.

I can watch TV using close captioning. The TV I use is about 19 inches and I sit probably within two feet of it. I can not sit back on a couch and watch a wide screen TV or anything. And to tell you the truth, I don't know if I've watched Oprah in over a year or two. Although I did watch the James Frey interview. (This is a perfect example of what I am talking about. When she supported James Frey on Larry King, my relatives who I kind of based this on were all supportive of him. Then when she changed her tune, so did they.)

I don't write or speak in nice sound bites, so hope this is of some use to you. Let me know if you need anything else and when the story might come out.

Thanks, Lisa

Oh, if you are interested, here is another funny anti-Oprah post by a Texan:

http://blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com/2005/07/26/chucking-oprah/

Comments

[Peggy]

The article is in today's (December 23) Houston Chronicle, pg 24, last page of the Zest section. You came across quite nicely! Here's the online link -- http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/tv/5395536.html

[DizzyCajun]

I loved Oprah and thought her one of the best women out there today if not THE best and now I'm no longer a fan. She has her nerve. Her celebrity and money have gone to her head and it seems she has become a racist from things I've read. I'm now tired of Oprah, cancelled my O subscription and have put her name to bed in my household. Her support of Obama was the last straw! These millions of followers will vote him in without a second thought as to who they are putting "in charge" of our country. Bye bye, Oprah!