Oprah has had a big year! She’s maintained all of her businesses and OWN and everything else, plus she conducted the biggest interview of the year, the sit-down with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. That interview went so well that now every other celebrity wants to do a sit-down interview with Oprah for network television, just like in the old days of Oprah’s syndicated show, when you knew that celebrities were always trying to get on Oprah’s couch to talk about their sh-t. Adele went to Oprah and while Adele didn’t spill any major tea, the British media was FURIOUS that Adele gave her exclusive to an American interviewer, and an American network. Now the Independent (a British outlet) asked a hilarious question: why don’t *we* have someone like Oprah?
Britney Spears is now saying she may take after Meghan Markle/Prince Harry and Adele and sit down with Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview. For journalists, we wait with bated breath and then cover it with tons of news stories and run features reporting on the juiciest revelations.
In British singer Adele’s case, she spilled the beans on divorce, weight loss and parenthood to the US talk show, as part of a two-hour special on CBS America last week.
But, as a UK journalist, I can’t help but wonder why the Brits all go to Oprah? Does this mean we need a UK Oprah? Piers Morgan isn’t really the same deal. Would you want to sit down with him for one of these highly confessional and emotionally charged interviews?
Gee, why doesn’t Great Britain have a prominent and beloved entertainment journalist with a decades-long background in talk television? Why doesn’t the UK have any women of color with a national profile in television? Man, I wonder! It’s a total mystery! You would almost have to believe that the British entertainment-media complex thrives on misogyny, racism and toxicity, to the point where the all-white establishment can’t even abide having a Black woman on television? It’s also weird how this same British media establishment tried to smear Oprah as a minor tabloid talk show host who was virtually unknown outside of America, and now suddenly they’re acting like they need their own Oprah? Adele went to Oprah because she’s clearly Team Sussex and because Adele has been living in America long enough to understand Oprah’s importance in the television-media landscape.
The replies on this tweet are really something!
Editor’s letter: Why do British celebrities go to Oprah first? We need our own https://t.co/ROc36qk3dW
— The Independent (@Independent) November 20, 2021
Photos courtesy of CBS, Avalon Red.
Oprah is Oprah. Oprah isn’t beholden to anyone. If she got a call from BP, KP or CH she’d wish them a blessed day and still do her Oprah thing. That is somethign that the British media seem incapable of doing (I really believe the BBC thing is just a fluke, a one off). Had a British journalist (and I may be generalizing) done the Harry and Meghan sit down, it would have been less about their story and more about how they affected the crown, and what about the queen, etc. JMHO
“Piers Morgan isn’t really the same deal.” Hilarious understatement. Celebrities open up to Oprah because she has empathy and overcame her own life challenges. Morgan is a vain bloviating mottled pinkish white guy.
I don’t think a British journalist could ever truly be detached when conducting an interview with anyone from the BRF because they were raised as children to revere that family as a cultural institution. Oprah views it as an outsider and doesn’t have the same blind spots.
@NIC919 This! The current BM are influenced, enmeshed with, and seem quite toxic in their relationship with the RF. In addition, Oprah is globally recognized (even to the Brits when they’re not fronting “Oprah who”?”).
That being said do they not edit/hash out these headlines? This seems problematic and lacking in self-awareness on so many levels. I mean, their own “what”? This woman has experienced and overcome so much and empathized with so many people across the board, probably BECAUSE of her unique background, trials, victories, and SUCCESSES CELEBRATED BY ALL. Do they foster a culture and environment where it would be possible to even have their “own”? They very well could have had a female minority of that caliber but they’ve probably already suppressed and squelched her and she wilted because she wasn’t able to escape like Meghan.
Perhaps I’m being too generous but this makes me wonder if this was written and put out there with a knowing wink and side eye acknowledging that they need to examine themselves.
I thought Oprah wasn’t that big in UK, why would they want a copy of the original then? Ask Sophie
Because they’d never allow a black woman to be that successful over there. They already tore down Meghan when all she did was work hard. Could you imagine if they actually had someone like Oprah on their TV?
Totally agree!
The closest that Britain has become is Trisha Goddard, and even Trisha came to the States to do her show for several years. She’s now working for Rupert Murdoch’s TalkTV.
@ GANDALFTHEMEH EXACTLY! When they have people like this they tear them down with their attitude of simply “tolerating” and not “celebrating” their successes. What’s so maddeningly sad is that had H&M been enable to thrive there and less hostility sent their way they would have already been further along in the steps to creating space for this in the future
Deaf, dumb, blind is my takeaway on the BM after this article but I really am hopeful this is simply the beginning of some much needed self-critique and examination.
i mean, they had the makings of their own Oprah in Meghan – someone who was empathetic, charismatic, and could turn a national lens on the struggles of everyday people
soooo
Um, because nearly all of you are racist and don’t even do your job you’re supposed to? Oprah actually listens and tells it like it is. She doesn’t make up stories from SoUrCes!!!!
@Latla – You are so correct. Look what happened to the weatherman who happened to be a POC and took up for the Sussexes. With regards to Oprah’s worldwide success, I believe it is because Oprah listens and allows her guest to “tell it like it is” from their point of view.
Bay- what weatherman?
Alex Beresford.
@ TIFFANY, I just looked him up and he is the biracial weatherman and he is the one that made Piss Morgan walk off the set. He has removed himself from SM due to the threats and the nastiness of Britain’s response to him causing Piss to leave the stage. Even a weatherman is subjected to racism and harmful threats.
How awful to be of any ethnicity besides white and British in the UK!
The UK has gone from we don’t even know who she is to why can’t we be her. Its deliciously hilarious. A more general story related to this is the number of British stars who leave the UK and refer to mistreatment by the media. In particular women and people of color.
@ Catherine, not only is it glorious that they ask themselves this question but I find it rather comical due to the fact that Britain’s journalists don’t seem to care whether they are factual or have any ounce of ethical standards to go by or follow. As to who posted this tweet, it was a thing of genius as they are melting by the sheer number of responses regarding their lack of integrity. I think that they should look inward and ask why, but they can’t even do that!!
im not prepared to conflate all of British media with the tabloid press – it’s a conflation that serves the tabloids while painting the good work of principled journalists with the same brush
but you’re absolutely right that the tabloids are utterly toxic trash, and it does feel like legit british outlets have fallen asleep at the wheel on this story
I cant even see the bigger female names being taken seriously enough to do a high profile interview. Lorraine Kelly, Davina McCall ,none of the Loose Women can hack it. Its a joke because how they treat their media industry as a whole it is all run on fear and intimidation.
There used to be Vanessa Feltz, Judy Finnigan, both mediocre at best.
Right. Racism and sexism aside (although being “other” certainly makes a person into a special target of resentment), it’s “Tall Poppy Syndrome.” Technically that’s an Australian idiom, but it’s certainly true of the UK as well. The fact that the US worships at the altar of individualism, wealth, and celebrity comes with its own serious issues, but it’s also true that people often move to the US to receive the success they feel they are owed.
There is nothing more pleasing to me than watching the UK realize that they are no longer the cultural/global superpower and empire they once were. I also think that the reason they don’t have their own Oprah (apart from the racism and misogyny) is because the UK’s media eco system simply does not reward the emotional/confessional format that is key to Oprah’s success. Also, the UK seem to hate success so much that if any Brit reached the same level of fame, they’d tear them down mercilessly
Like, their entertainers etc leave to seek success and privacy in the states and always has. Did they just wake up and realize this?
Did not some Rotten Royal Rota Reporter state that the English only “tolerate success and do not celebrate it”?
I have seen a couple old David Frost interviews (which were mainly political) and they were pretty good but he was no Barbara Walters or Oprah Winfrey. Also, Martin Bashir did interview with Michael Jackson fairly late in Jackson’s life. I saw this interview and Bashir was pretty good.
Didn’t David Frost relocate to the States later in his career?
@Chrissy – Yes! He did.
Bashir is the cretin who tricked Princess Diana bro working with him and he twisted Michael Jackson’s words to implicate him in another pedo scandal trial—where the child who was on camera in that interview later claimed Michael touched him AFTER the interview aired and people were already looking at him with a fine-toothed comb!
Make it make sense, lol.
what a spot on read – british culture primarily rewards people who *know their place* and are self-effacing in the extreme, and quickly turns on success as *getting above your betters* unless the person acts like success and wealth is a horribly embarassing accident for everyone involved
meghan doesn’t play by those rules – she shines so brightly with self-worth and a sense of belonging wherever she lands, and that alone paints a massive target on her back
add to that the general abhorrence of emotional vulnerability and it’s a recipe for disaster
The lack of self awareness. You’re mean and nasty, that’s why. Attack, criticize, mock and degrade is the standard there. So they’re upset that the worlds biggest couple and singer gave the American media money and ratings. They’re going to keep losing out if they don’t change the attitudes over there.
@Brit – The following statement explains it all compliments of Penny Junor:
“We tolerate success in this country, but we don’t celebrate it,” Ms. Junor said.
The above reason is why a second-rate talk-show host like Piers Morgan can have a print and broadcast career in the UK as he really is not that successful (good) at print or broadcast and his journalism & broadcast peers do not seem to even want to tolerate him anymore.
I doubt Piers could even make it as a successful Podcaster in the USA. He certainly could not hack the mission and brief of CNN given to him on a silver platter which was to get equal or higher ratings as those of Larry King.
It’s funny you should mention Penny Junor as that is the is the main explanation that people responded with in the tweets. Many tweets were in French, but I can’t read it.
Britain could never have an Oprah because the so called journalist run on attack and hatred. Britain has made themselves this way, no one else had.
Funny that they were stating Oprah who? But now that Adele has been interviewed by Oprah, all of sudden they hate on Adele for going to Oprah. They are so mean spirited and they love to tear people down. Why would anyone want to be associated with the general laws of Britain’s journalism?
Didn’t Piers try to come over here only to crash and burn? Seriously the only thing I recall him doing in the States was co-judging America’s Got Talent when it first started here, which is laughable irony at best. So glad he slithered back to Salty Isle…unfortunately he didn’t toss himself into a ditch once he got back there.
We used to have an eminent and well-respected interviewer that all the celebrities sat down with on primetime television: Michael Parkinson. But when he retired, he wasn’t really replaced. We have the early morning/mid morning tv shows (Lorraine Kelly is probably the closest to Oprah here), and we have the late night chat shows (Graham Norton is the biggest, but not the place for a serious confessional). It would be fantastic to have a return of lengthy in-depth interviews about serious subjects, especially presented by someone like Oprah, but our tv schedules are filled to the brim with crap: reality tv, celebrity competition shows, soap operas, football etc.
I don’t know. I lost a lot of respect for Parkinson around the time he interviewed Meg Ryan. And even then he didn’t have the level of power that Oprah has. Oprah is here own megaverse, beholden to no one, able to navigate all media with ease.
I really like Graham Norton and have great respect for him but one must consider that Mr. Norton does only one show a week and Johnny Carson-David Letterman did five shows a week.
If a person does only one show a week then each show should be very much above average as Graham Norton’s always are.
To be fair, the American TV landscape is also full of crap. The Oprah interview with H&M was an anomaly that shook things up a bit.
@Eurydice – You are so correct that the American TV landscape is also full of crap.
However, I think the Adele interview Oprah (also on CBS) threw the on-air British media people for a loop too and shook thing up even more.
I agree that it’s full of crap, but I also think this is the second golden age for television. Series I’ve watched over the last several years, like The Leftovers and Succession and Mad Men–the production values are amazing, and the scripts are smart and have shape.
True, but it’s full of everything. There are excellent shows, terrible shows, and a lot of in between. There are just a lot of Americans and therefore a lot of markets.
I also remember one big “pop culture” interviewer the Brits revered just about more than anyone- Jimmy Savile. That worked out well.
He’s a perfect representation for the British freak show establishment, IMO. And they deserve to be eternally minded of the tremendous support he received from them.
The attacks on Adele after she did the Oprah interview were based on journalists being jealous of Oprah. Adele had a similar show in the UK but she like the audience ask her questions so it’s clear that she prefers not to be interviewed by the likes of Piers Morgan and Lorraine.
They’re so jealous and are still reeling from Oprah getting access to Harry and Meghan. Not to mention that Adele is close friends with them and supports them. They’ve been acting shady ever since that vogue video where she chose Harry over William.
Most British chose Harry so it’s not really saying something that Adele did too. Everyone thinks William is a bore anyway, even the BM.
Oprah is also just epic. As in show some respect and acknowledge how she has worked hard for the past 30 years to build what she has. It’s offensive to even think we can just have another Oprah like it’s no big thing.
The British media cannot show respect as the British media do not seem to value or celebrate self-made success, they only “tolerate success” of this type.
Yup. There is only one Oprah and she can’t really be replicated. The UK would need someone who is equally well-respected and has worked in the media for a long while. The person would need to be empathetic but also have a commanding presence.
Kind of a colonizer’s attitude, come to think of it. William embodies that is well. “I want that. Why can’t I have that?”
Ummm excuse me British Media, the US graciously loaned you an amazingly talented woman of color princess and you drove her to almost kill herself and ran her and her family out of the country. YOU STAY AWAY FROM OPHRA!!!! Seriously, no one (especially a woman of color) would be allowed to be an OPHRA in the BM. The BM couldn’t even handle a sweet princess making Alvarado toast with her tan hands….
exactly!!! they got roasted for asking for a such question……..if you remove The Economist and the FT, the majority of the rest is made up of spiteful and hateful people! Can you imagine a WOC succeeding in that environment?
We have a lot of problems in the USA, a lot; I do think our press is not that great; some of the NYT editorials or WP or even the BG or CNN have been very problematic with some incompetent journalists (I think Dana Bash is very average on the State of the Union); the WSJ (ex- their opinion section) has printed some bonkers but I will take those over having people like Piers Morgan obsessing over women and a lot being more than OK with it! A press that’s free to print lies and falsehood with very little pushback. A press almost entirely made up of “columnists” and gossipers and tabloids……can you imagine a tabloid gossiper on a serious network? I couldn’t believe I saw that while following Meghan’s journey in the UK; I just couldn’t believe my eyes
Anyway, whom I am to talk!
“The Economist and the FT”
I would put The Guardian and Observer in the same class The Economist and Financial Times.
The Telegraph has gone tabloid which did shock me.
Wow. The lack of self-awareness here is just breathtaking. They hate when people become successful in the public eye, hate when women become successful, hate when POC become successful… but can’t figure out why someone in the UK isn’t as successful as Oprah. Alsi, I thought they didn’t know who she was over there? If that’s the case, why would a British celebrity spill their guts to them? LMAO
Because people like Piers Morgan would never allow it.
I do not think Morton has as much control and power as people think he has or HE THINKS HE HAS.
Piers Morgan is no Larry King let alone a Morley Safer, Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, Steve Kroft or Andersen Cooper.
he tried to be that in the US and spectacularly failed!
Or Diane Sawyer!
If you want another answer to this question, go look up Piers Morgan’s CNN interview with Justice Antonin Scalia. A huge coup, and he could not have taken it less seriously. Scalia grows visibly irritated – not because the questions are hard hitting but rather because they aren’t. Morgan treats it exactly like the aw shucks har har celebrity interview he’s poo pop ing. Scalia treats it like a hard news interview that he expected as an American Supreme Court justice.
True, but his smear campaign against Meghan has been extremely effective.
So he does have influence.
He has influence in the UK but not on a worldwide Oprah level.
Because you have Piers.
Uugh and please keep Piers over there *****shudder
It’s also because Oprah and the American media companies have a global reach that is harder for Britain’s broadcasters to duplicate, especially outside Commonwealth countries. They have preexisting relationships with non English speaking countries who know that Oprah is worth the cost of dubbing, etc. Even Madeleine McCann’s parents went on Oprah in like 2009 – both to talk about the search for her and some of their criminal libelous mistreatment by the British media. If you want a global audience you’re going to a woman whose (then) weekly talk show is broadcast to an audience of tens of millions in a country where in which there is a substantial immigrant population from a huge portion of the world. ETA: with preexisiting worldwide syndication deals
Oprah is a big business in Latin America. Adele’s interview was covered by major outlets while Latin star Anita’s appearance on James Corden’s talk show made few headlines.
First, I appreciate that the author knows how to spell “bated.” Every time I read “baited breath” I wonder if the person’s been eating week-old fish.
And second, I appreciate the dig at Piers Morgan – “Would you want to sit down with him…?”
Lol
I hate ‘reigned in’ instead of ‘reined in’ and ‘flaunting the rules’ instead of ‘flouting the rules’.
Oops..I think I’ve spelled it baited. I promise that my breath doesn’t smell like week old fish-brush my teeth at least twice a day.
Well pre-Internet I think Oprah wasn’t that famous outside the US? I think her show aired in other countries but she wasn’t popular like she was in the US. My French relatives had no idea who she was in in the 90s. But now thanks to Internet/social media/Youtube, her star power has risen to global fame and everyone knows who she is and we’re all the better for it.
And yeah nobody wants to sit down with Piers Morgan because he’s a vile human being.
She was. I am from Eastern European country and Oprah was very popular here since the 90’s. I wouldn’t really take into account that French didn’t know about her, France is it’s own universe and they also don’t like American culture too much
Nina you’ve clearly never been to France. Anytime I meet a French person all they ever talk about is American culture. They credit it for how they learned English. It’s also the reason I think the French love Americans so much. I expected no love and it’s the opposite here. The French give all the love. Also bizarrely the French show the Simpsons and Malcom in the Middle daily on their network tv.
Sorry that’s not true. Oprah was a big deal in the UK when her show first aired here in the late 80s/ early 90s, most of us black British folk watched Oprah religiously as we hadn’t seen anything like her show before.
My grandparents in India and Kenya both watched Oprah pre-internet. My mother’s mother in particular loved her.
I’m from a small Caribbean island and trust me, Oprah was VERY popular here pre-internet.
The Oprah Show was broadcasted in 145 different countries. Had episodes filmed in 8 other countries-one being France. Other royalty that appeared on Oprah-Queen Rania of Jordan, Duchess of York, Prince Manvendra, Princess Stephanie, Archduchess Michaela of Austria (she made an interesting comment that the ‘life of a princess lacks the warmth of family’ and ‘had to make appointments to see her father & grandmother’), Prince Hubertus of Austria, Prince Louis Albert of France, Prince Amoti Nyabongo of Uganda, Prince Charles-Henri of France(those 4 Princes were on the show together in 1996), Princess Elizabeth of Toro, Prince Egon von Furstenberg of Austria, Hope Cooke, former Queen of Sikkim, Princess Akosua Busla of Ghana.
Sure Sophie. Sure.
Maybe ask Sophie with her “chat show host” comments.
Do you think Sophie would be interested in being interviewed by Piers Morgan? Do you think Piers Morgan would interview Sophie for a full broadcast hour if given the chance?
Two things. I distinctly remember them asking: “Oprah Who?” a few weeks ago. And they specifically stated that they don’t celebrate success. So why do they think they need an Oprah?
L’horreur ! Could it be that they are realizing that their shyte don’t fly in other parts of the world. LOLOLOL. Keep doing you, you salty bytches.
Actually its because the American media constantly critiques itself while the British media does not. Had an American journalist acted like Piers Morgan against Meghan questions would have been asked a long time ago if he was ok?
The beauty of Oprah is that she conducts her interviews in a very empathetic, very human way. The Brits and their stiff upper lips could never.
The British Media wonders a lot but don’t use their brains.
Another perspective. Go back to the documentary of the 🤴 and the press. There’s a woman that clearly states that the problem with Meg was she wanted and was going to use her voice. And in the royals you can’t have a voice. Then it cuts to when the four of them was on stage and it was asked do they have disagreements. Look at who’s speaking. Harry, will and Meg. Look how uncomfortable Kate was and she’s pregnant. But clearly the woman states Camilla and Kate do well in the family cause they have no voice.
Please, like piss Morgan can even come close to Oprah zone. There is no Oprah type person in the uk because black people make the white racist section of the uk deeply uncomfortable. Ask Meghan
Oprah is Oprah, she just happens to be from the US. Their question is dumb … If you have the chance to chat with/being interviewed by her… I mean…
“Piers Morgan isn’t really the same deal.” Um, YA THINK??
What Oprah does and what Piers does, both personally and professionally, could not be more different. If they think Piers is kind of close, they fundamentally do not understand the interview skills and cultural influence Oprah has around the world.
The point is in the US you have partisan media but there are also people in the media who scrutinize media coverage and accuracy and ask is it fair. I dont see that in the UK. You have to go to a government body offcom. Until this BBC guy there just doesnt seem to be a lot of people asking is our coverage fair or over the top? Or who is benefiting from all these leaks and what is the motivation.
@ Lee, that’s a great point!! In the US, we question the motives behind statements or what people say in regards to the news and all sources of journalists. We take the integrity of journalism seriously. No one in Britain would be able to act in that manner in the US. Here we take journalists as a serious profession and we have delivered serious journalists. Look at Walter Conkrite, Edward R. Murrow, Barbara Walters, Ed Bradly, the list goes on and on.
I respectfully disagree. The US press let trump literally get away with murder. The WH press corp with a couple of honourable exceptions sat there silently while trump insulted and threatened them. TV journalists from reputable US stations sit there while republicans spread the Big Lie. Chris Wallace let trump trample all over the presidential debate. Many fine U.K. journalists of various political persuasions – Andrew Marr, Kirsty Wark, Emily Maitless, Eddie Mair, even horrible Andrew Neil just off the top of my head – would never have taken that sh@it.
Trump got more than his share of bad coverage in the US press and got no pass.. The US press put the facts out there for all to see. Yet no journalist in the UK can ask an obvious question such as why a man who is employed by Harry and Meghan as their communication liason is writing emails to William about what is going on in Harry and Meghans household. Or how Harry and Meghan might feel about having an employee of William give evidence in Court in favor of the Daily Mail against them and remain on the royal payroll! Oprah would ask those questions with a velvet glove which is why the rota is still beefing about her interview months later.
I would watch her interview Britney omg
You and me both!! I didn’t watch Adele’s interview live like I did H&M’s, but Britney….I would definitely watch live. There is just so much to unpack with her…
Why would anyone go to the UK media expecting a fair interview? These people are seriously dumb. They are corrupt, hack people’s private info and phones, bully and harass people into giving interviews, and would sell their own mother for a scoop and then they wonder why all the Brit celebs go to an American journalist with ethics? Really?
Yeesh. Racist, snotty, “we only hire our private school/college friends,” exploitative, viciously unethical, destructive, and deliberately, relentlessly ignorant. Gee, it’s _so_ hard to see why the BM have no Oprah equivalent. Or why Brit celebrities get the hell outta dodge once they’ve seen how the BM treat subjects. 🙄🙄
Maybe, and this is just a hunch, it’s bc Oprah allows celebrities to demonstrate a level of vulnerability in a certain way, and in an environment where they can feel safe enough to know that their vulnerabilities won’t be used against them, or interpreted in the absolute WORST possible way, bc “accountability” or whatever it is that British tabloid writers like to say to defend their atrocious behaviour.
The British media is not one where vulnerability is really given any sort of room. They are constantly on the attack, constantly looking for the next thing to find that they can push and paint in the worst possible light. When your field is predicated on the presumption that literally every person in the public eye is the absolute worst person on the world, and all their less-than-stellar actions are to be taken as the worst things ever done by any human, then yeah, it’s not freaking surprising that people don’t want to open up to you in the manner that they do with Oprah. Freaking duh.
The British tabloids are not angry with Oprah bc she got the scoop, persé. They’re angry bc they couldn’t get there first and set the overwhelmingly negative tone for the narrative. They’re angry they couldn’t get Adele’s thoughts on and write screeds about how she sucks for thinking what she thinks and saying what she says. They’re mad because Adele got a chance to speak for herself, when the tabloids believe they should speak for her. That’s not accountability, that’s just bullying.
It’s odd that the Independent would forget their own great TV interviewer David Frost. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Frost
Alas, none of his caliber have succeeded him.
Because you’re mean and you expect your media to be ruthless, that’s why. Where is there a place for Oprah in the British media? Nowhere.