Oprah Winfrey has a new show, and she is making serious headlines with it.
The veteran journalist opened her Apple TV+ series, The Oprah Conversation, with a bang by using the term “white privilege.”
The media mogul sat down former NFL star and race activist Emmanuel Acho, who is the host of an Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man, where they spoke with non-black viewers.
A guest made this remark: “Not all white people have power. There’s plenty of poor, working-class white people. But I think that when we group all white people together and we don’t recognize that there’s a lot of white people who struggle, and it’s a different struggle, as you mentioned because they’re not streaming upstream let’s call it I think that if we’re gonna come together and really attack racism and the inequities that are in this country and are in this world, that it’s important not to group all white people.”
Oprah had this answer: “There are white people who are not as powerful as the system of white people — the caste system that’s been put in place. But they still, no matter where they are on the rung or ladder of success, they still have their whiteness. You still have your whiteness. That’s what the term ‘white privilege’ is. It means that whiteness still gives you an advantage, no matter..”
Oprah, who has a net worth of $2.6 billion, was slammed by many, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz who called the discussion “utter, racist BS.”
Oprah has black people sticking up for her.
One Oprah defender said: “Black ppl ain’t even messing with Oprah right now, BUT what you not gonna do is disrespect Oprah and try and come for her like we won’t get u together! Even homeless white people receive more sympathy than black homeless people… that is still a form of privilege. 🤔”
A second follower shared: “Just because it is rich and successful doesn’t mean racism has been wiped away for them. This world is filled with so much hate, and it’s pathetic and sad.”
This commenter explained: “The problem is white people conflate “privilege” with money. But, it’s a PRIVILEGE not to be racially profiled when driving on a backroad at night or applying for a job. It is a PRIVILEGE not to be followed around a high-end store. It is a PRIVILEGE not to have laws in place to make sure companies and schools don’t discriminate against you (and they do it anyway). White privilege has nothing to do with having money; HOWEVER, the privilege of having no social obstacles in your way will generally result in some level of success.”
Another supporter wrote: “On the way up” trust me she endures racism to this day some countries don’t know who she is and she’s dealt with racism first hand. By The way, privilege is not about money. It’s about the fact he can curse out a police officer, and nothing happens to him vs. a black person doing everything the police say and still end up dead or arrested.”
This person added: “They keep saying Oprah, a billionaire, but she was still discriminated against when she went shopping in Soho, NY. I believed where it happened. They didn’t know she was a “billionaire,” and they thought a Black Woman couldn’t afford to shop there.”
Oprah has been in a few controversies in recent years.