Ms. Winfrey, Silence Can Be Golden...
I'm a little behind in my posting, and meant to blog about this last week when all of this mess was taking place. As some of you may know, Oprah has a list of books she recommends. The short and skinny of this set up is that after announcing her picks, her audience and target consumer population go out and buy the books, which propels some unknown authors to fame. Some of the authors were already notable figures in the literary world, while others are brand new. For the new ones, they can catch the jackpot if she loves them. When Oprah speaks, many people listen.
Before I get to discussing this here thang that went down recently, please know that I'm not an Oprah fan or hater. I view Oprah's talk show as a buffet bar. I choose what I like from her show, and simply discard the rest. This means that I like her shows about fashion, celebrities, and home decor. But I switch the channel when she discusses spiritual and relationship issues, since I'm not on the same page with her about those things. To each her own, right?
Back to the issue at hand...Last year, Oprah chose the "A Million Little Pieces" book by James Frey. This book was supposed to be a memoir detailing the experiences that Frey endured while struggling with his substance abuse problems. Oprah fell in love with the book. In fact, she gave some gifts to Frey's mother on her "Favorite Things" show. But then, the "Smoking.Gun" website found out that Frey had embellished a few things. (Side Note: FOLKS CLAIM THAT WE LIE, WHILE THEY EMBELLISH...FREY'S BUTT LIED!!!) Then Frey appeared on the Larry King Live show to set things straight. He claimed that he made up somethings to make himself appear to be badder and tougher than he really was. Perhaps, he did this for the sake of sensationalism. Shux, I don't care; I didn't buy the book. But while I was running my mouth on the phone, I was also channel surfing when I came upon the Larry King show. And lo and behold, good ole Oprah called in to take up for Frey quite strongly. She had his back. She basically said that although the facts were embellished (lies), the book still helped others who had similar struggles to Frey. Well, Hello America, the Golden Voice has spoken. *extreme sarcasm*
A week or so later, a columnist from the Washington.Post echoed the same thing I and other folks had been saying. Suddenly, is what's right wrong and what's wrong right? We couldn't really understand why Oprah felt compelled to call into the Larry King show. She didn't take up for Kirk Franklin (his skinmagazine addiction), Toni Braxton (past bankruptcy with Arista Records), and some other folks. So what makes Frey any different. I could have understood her putting out a short statement to say that the show was unaware of Frey's lies. But no, she went to bat for this guy. And because of all of this hoopla, Frey's books are still selling well.
Then the next week she did a total 180 Degree turn. She invited Frey to be on her show. Initially, he probably thought that she was going to roll out the red carpet for him, and mollycoddle him some more. Not. He was like a deer in the headlights. She lit him up like a Christmas tree, and all he could do was sit there and look straightforward. Oprah had the home court advantage and controlled all parameters of communication, since the doggone thang was unfolding on her show. If she didn't like the way the show came out, all she had to do was edit or totally can the show. It's beyond me why Frey didn't just walk off the show that was in progress. Oprah was telling him that he duped her and the nation. I was wondering whether this show was devoted to her ego or to her product brand (her show) as business and tv analysts have indicated. Although Oprah apologized, I don't think she took enough responsibility for her own missteps. She needs to realize that she picked Frey's book and not the reverse. Even after she found out that he lied, she powerfully came to his aid. But now she's changed her mind and is furious with him? If she just stayed mum, things would have blown over. So now if Frey harms himself in some kind of way behind experiencing her wrath on her show, will Oprah come out and do another show to twist this thang some more? When does it end?
Then the news/spin tv shows went to work on Oprah like it was nobody's business. They held panel discussions with about four or five folks to talk down about the woman. Some made it sound sort of personal. But what I actually realized is that some of the panelists and tv bigmouths may never admit it, but some of them are probably thinking that no woman of color should have a billion dollars and the empire that she has. So those folks had no shortage of backhanded comments directed towards Oprah. Was I starting to feel sorry for her? Perhaps, I don't know. But there is one thing that I do know. Silence can be golden!
5 comments:
I did read the book and thought is sounded a bit embelished. But when you read a memoir or auto-biography, you just assume it's true. I didn't catch the O show, but I think it's funny she did the 180. It's got to be from angry fans writing in.
I think she did the 180 because personal friends may have been saying, "you're wrong". She knows the power of her words and she has to be responsible. I'm with you though, it's a buffet, you eat the meat and have to be wise enough to throw away the bone when it comes to her or anybody else. The only person I'd ever stand behind 100% is Jesus. But that's just my opinion :)
I think its sad that Oprah has so many sheepish followers. I heard through a friend that she received numerous angry emails from so called fans expressing their disgust with her. It's bogus that these folks don't quite understand that she makes 'recommendations' not 'mandates.' Do these people really care that the man lied? Seriously! Don't we have bigger fish to fry.
And what's with all the finger pointing that occurred as a result of the frey incident? Oprah's fault, the publisher's fault, the editor's fault. Man, who cares!
@Shawn: Evidently Oprah's show was devoted to fingerpointing. Perhaps she cares to protect the brand, which is her show and its integrity, since she expressed vastly conflicting views within a short period of time. Folks wouldn't bother to discuss this on talks shows and the news if it didn't have any implications to do with money, profits, and advertisers. Oprah is a master businesswoman and knows that she messed up this time around. But this situation means much less to those of us, who don't stand to make a dime from the matter.
But we shouldn't feels so sorry for Oprah. Afterall, she's the billionaire. And, err, I'm not. *weak smile*
I forgot to add those people at the smoking gun irk me. Why are they always so eager to exploit someone else's mishaps? It drive me crazy every time I read "the smoking gun" uncovered...
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