Oprah Winfrey supported and help get Barack Obama Elected. I’m done with the damn argument.
The media mogul delivered a powerful speech at the Golden Globes Sunday night, almost immediately launching speculation on the topic.
Bringing a room full of Hollywood’s elite to their feet several times during the speech, Winfrey addressed the Me Too movement head on, lighting up social media with the hashtag #Oprah2020.
“It is not lost on me that at this very moment there are little girls watching me become the first black woman to get this award,” said Winfrey as she collected her Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award.
This is not the first time rumors have circulated regarding Winfrey’s presidential aspirations. Political observers compared her speech to then Sen. Barack Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Oprah herself has denied that she’s considering a run for president, but her partner Stedman Graham was later quoted as saying she “absolutely” would if people wanted her to.
For some, the specter of an Oprah presidential campaign raises questions on whether the country needs another big name celebrity with no political experience. But many don’t seem to mind.
Yes she will clean up the mess in Hollywood. Looks like she needs to start with her friends.
“I don’t see her as a celebrity, I see her as a leader,” said West Loop resident Kristine Singer.
“As a longtime Chicago resident, she’d have my vote,” said Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
According to political veteran Thom Serafin, the bigger question is whether Winfrey would be willing to put herself through a grueling presidential campaign.
“I think she has the ability to educate, the ability to inspire, the ability to legislate. But you have to have the guts and stamina to go out on the campaign trail and take the crap you have to take 24-7. . . She was perfect in that event. She was just perfect. Can she be perfect in Iowa, New Hampshire, in Peoria where Caterpillar is leaving and there are no jobs? Those are questions I would suggest she has no interest in getting into,” said Serafin.
For those who’ve known her from the beginning, like Dennis Swanson, whom Winfrey thanked on stage for giving her a chance on AM Chicago many years ago, the possibility is not that far-fetched.
“I said, are you going to be able to handle success, that is my concern. She said, ‘Do you think I’ll be that successful?’ I said ‘Lady, you’re going to cost me a lot of money but you are going to shoot the lights out,'” said Swanson.
Winfrey finished her speech to a standing ovation.
“A new day is on the horizon. When that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women…and some pretty phenomenal men fighting hard to make sure they become the leaders who take us to the time nobody ever has to say ‘me too’ again,” Winfrey said.
Only time will tell whether an Oprah for President campaign will materialize. If social media is any indication, just the idea of it has sparked tremendous debate. Oprah related posts have reached more than 1.5 million people on ABC7’s Facebook page.
A full transcript of Winfrey’s speech can be found here.
Former ESPN Vice President Roxanne Jones claimed in a Friday op-ed published on CNN that “women enable” sexual predators.
Jones criticized women for being complicit in covering up for sexual predators in a piece written for CNN. Jones brings attention to the many female NBC employees who reportedly covered up Matt Lauer’s alleged sexual predatory behavior before he was fired by NBC on Wednesday.
“Behind every sexual harasser, be he Matt Lauer or the man next door, likely stands a woman willing to excuse, cover up or feel ‘heartbroken’ for the abuser once his lewd behavior is exposed,” wrote Jones.
Jones criticized Lauer’s former co-host Savannah Guthrie of “Today,” who looked visibly devastated when announcing his firing on-air. Guthrie emphasized, while sitting next to Hoda Kotb, that she was “heartbroken” and referred to him as a dear friend.
“Why would Guthrie and Kotb immediately rush in to praise Lauer before they even had details of the story?” inquired Jones, especially after a Variety report broke that Lauer had a secret button under his desk to allegedly sexually harass women in his office.
Guthrie previously joked about a “huge bag of sex toys” found in Lauer’s desk while on the Meredith Vieira Show in 2o16. Vieira previously worked with Lauer from 2006-2011.
Megyn Kelly, host of “Megyn Kelly Today” on NBC also referred to Lauer as a “friend” on air following being news being broke of his firing. She also welcomed his accusers and Lauer on her show.Lauer was fired Tuesday after a female staffer filed a complaint to Human Resources that he sexually harassed her while covering the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games.
