Oprah Winfrey

[[File:Oprah Winfrey 2010.jpg|thumb|165px|You get a car! You get a car! You ''all'' get cars!]]{{media}}
'''Oprah Winfrey''' {{lived|1954}} is one of [[America]]'s most popular and influential talk show hosts and a near-total [[asshole]] who pushes a variety of [[woo]] and [[bullshit]].

==Woo==
{{Main|Woo}}
If Winfrey likes your stuff enough to feature it on her show, you'll probably get rich. Your book, your show… your hideously fraudulent woo.<ref>[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-oprah-fication-of-medicine/ The Oprah-fication of medicine] ''Science-Based Medicine'' 1 June 2009</ref> Despite spawning various [[cranks]] and at least two [[fascist]] supporters (Oz and McGraw) with her show, Oprah herself is longtime [[Democrat]], having endorsed [[Barack Obama]], [[Hillary Clinton]], [[Joe Biden]], and [[Kamala Harris]] for [[POTUS]]. It just goes to show the malign power of [[credulity]].

Filming a daily daytime talk show for about twenty years naturally means that there will be a lot of time to fill. Sadly, Winfrey chose to fill this time with woo promoters. She is a relentless promoter of [[pseudoscience]], some relatively benign, some downright dangerous:
* The [[Satanic Panic]], which caused false charges of sexual abuse against people in numerous cases. Some spent years in prison, all had their reputations dragged through the mud, while genuine sexual abuse cases were sidelined.
*''[[The Secret]]'', which mostly sucks in the lazy
*[[Jenny McCarthy]]'s [[anti-vaccine hysteria]] is an even more dangerous thing to push, and it was that which got even the [[mainstream media]] calling her out, notably when ''Newsweek'' ripped her a new one in point-by-point detail.<ref>[http://www.newsweek.com/2009/05/29/live-your-best-life-ever.html Live Your Best Life Ever!] ''Newsweek'' 30 May 2009</ref>
*Winfrey promoted a process called "thermage", which purports to "rejuvenate" skin with radio waves, but that runs [[risk]]s including scarring.<ref name=si-bbgb>[https://skepticalinquirer.org/2010/03/oprah-winfrey-bright-but-gullible-billionaire/ Oprah Winfrey: Bright (but Gullible) Billionaire], Martin Gardner, Skeptical Inquirer, Volume 34, No. 2, March-April 2010</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171004234536/http://www.simplyantiaging.com/2892/thermage-face-lift/ Thermage face lift: worth the cost?] ''Simply Anti Aging'' (Archived from the original on 4 October 2017)</ref>
*Winfrey promoted [[James Arthur Ray]], who served time in [[prison]] for causing the deaths of three people in his controversial sweat lodge woo.<ref>[https://www.theverge.com/2013/12/4/5038930/the-death-dealer-james-arthur-sweat-lodge-deaths-in-sedona The Death Dealer] ''The Verge'' 4 December 2013</ref>
*Winfrey was even [[sucker]]ed (in ''[[Brass Eye]]'' style) by an internet prank about "over 9000" [[penis]]es wanting to rape children.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7liYfhRgXGk LOLPRAH: OVER 9000 PENISES!] from the [[YouTube]] channel ''43anonymous'' 22 September 2008</ref>
*[[Deepak Chopra]] was a guest on her show.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAbQUO9x_8g In 1993, Deepak Chopra Showed Oprah the Power of Her Mind | The Oprah Winfrey Show | OWN] from the [[YouTube]] channel ''OWN'' 23 February 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qgZfjq5B-Q Deepak Chopra Reflects on His Time as a Monk | SuperSoul Sunday | Oprah Winfrey Network] from the [[YouTube]] channel ''OWN'' 29 April 2012</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tueSZ4cbmXA Oprah and Deepak Chopra – How To Remove Negative Thoughts] from the [[YouTube]] channel ''Reviews4World'' 26 August 2014</ref> They even have a meditation program together.<ref>[https://chopracentermeditation.com/article/6-oprah_deepaks_21_day_meditation_experience?sso_code=eyJpdiI6IjJ0QXlWUFFOMFVxQlJyd0tLQXR6VGc9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoiMlN4M3FSb2VkZXJJNHRLWXlPWCswQjhjbmgzbDlkVlwvKzRlQ284SW9mKzQ4eFc0YWtaeTBFcnV0dWFtRzgxSG84d1ZhQVRKSFgwWnVoZk05bXl3OVlRXC91V2hrc3JcL2NtRU10VHhwaXNLNk09IiwibWFjIjoiYThkOGNkNTU2ODJlYmE3OTk3ZTQzMDIzMzdlNjlmMDk2MTRmMGY4ZGIxNjI3ZWZhZThjYjNhMWE0MDMzY2VmOSJ9 OPRAH & DEEPAK'S 21-DAY MEDITATION EXPERIENCE] ''Meditation Experience''</ref>
*General [[Big Pharma]] whackery as well, of course.<ref name=si-bbgb/>
*[[Eckhart Tolle]]
*"John of God" ({{wpl|João Teixeira de Faria}}), a [[Faith healing|psychic healer]] and serial [[rapist]]<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/12/17/celebrity-brazilian-healer-john-god-once-featured-by-oprah-surrenders-sexual-abuse-charges/ Celebrity Brazilian healer ‘John of God,’ once featured by Oprah, surrenders on sexual abuse charges] ''The Washington Post'' 17 December 2018</ref>

===Regular guest woo-peddlers===
*[[Christiane Northrup]]
*[[Mehmet Oz]]
*[[Suzanne Somers]]

A number of notable media charlatans, including McCarthy, Oz, and "Dr. Phil" McGraw got their own television shows after gaining a measure of prominence through their association with Winfrey.

McGraw later went on to give a ringing [[celebrity]] endorsement of celebrity [[Donald Trump]], [[Irony|while denigrating celebrity endorsements]] for [[Kamala Harris]]<ref>[https://singjupost.com/transcript-dr-phil-makes-the-case-for-why-trump-is-not-a-bully-at-madison-square-garden-rally/?singlepage=1 Transcript: Dr. Phil Makes The Case For Why Trump Is Not A ‘Bully’ At Madison Square Garden Rally] (October 28, 2024 2:09 am) ''The Singju Post''.</ref> at an event that has been widely compared to a 1939 [[Nazi]] rally at the same arena.<ref>[https://www.axios.com/2024/10/28/trumps-msg-rally-1939-msg-nazi-event Trump's MSG event draws comparisons to 1939 Nazi rally] by Russell Contreras (October 28, 2024) ''Axios''.</ref>

Oz was also an entrant into [[Trumpism]] in 2016, particularly by giving his non-expert [[quack]] advice on treating [[COVID]] with [[hydroxychloroquine]].<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-eyes-accused-quack-dr-oz-for-coronavirus-and-hydroxychloroquine-advice/ Trump Eyes Accused ‘Quack’ Dr. Oz for Coronavirus Advice: The president can’t stop talking about an unproven COVID-19 treatment—the same one the oft-criticized TV doctor keeps pushing and pushing.] by Lachlan Cartwright & Asawin Suebsaeng (Apr. 05, 2020) ''The Daily Beast''.</ref>

==''Miracle Detectives''==
''Miracle Detectives'' is a show on the Oprah Winfrey Network, featuring Randall Sullivan and neuroscientist Indre Viskontas investigating claims of [[miracle]]s. Despite Viskontas typically ruling out any supposed miracles with [[science]], the show usually ends with Sullivan ignoring the evidence in favor of a more comforting answer of "[[willful ignorance|I don't know about that]]."

==Oprah on atheism==
In an October 2013 show, Winfrey made some cringeworthy comments that revealed that she holds some common prejudices about [[atheism]] (and some wooish beliefs about the nature of [[God]]). She questioned her guest, Diana Nyad&nbsp;— a woman who had recently swum from [[Cuba]] to [[Florida]], and an atheist&nbsp;— how it was possible to be both an atheist and "deeply in awe". After Nyad replied that she sees no contradiction and that she "can stand at the beach's edge with the most devout [[Christian]], [[Jew]], [[Buddhist]] and weep at the beauty of this universe, and be moved by all of humanity", Oprah managed to drop something that pisses off both atheists and [[theologian]]s, denying that atheists can feel awe and making a muddle of the concept of a personal god:
{{QuoteBox|Well I don't call you an atheist then. I think if you believe in the awe and the wonder, and the mystery, then that is what God is. [[Pantheism|That is what God is.]] It's not the bearded guy in the sky.}}
The conversation then went a bit further in the same vein. The exchange caused some predictable reactions in the atheist blogosphere (i.e. [https://freethoughtblogs.com/cuttlefish/2013/10/15/oprah-says-major-religions-all-wrong/ ridicule]), and that apparently was notable enough to cause further media coverage of the event.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/oprah-winfrey-suggests-atheists-must-believe-in-god-if-they-experience-awe-and-wonder-8884013.html Oprah Winfrey suggests atheists must believe in God if they experience awe and wonder] ''The Independent'' 16 October 2013</ref>

[[Hemant Mehta]] responded:
{{QuoteBox|More important, however, was the (unintentional) implication that those of us who find beauty in plants and animals and the universe itself can't possibly be godless. That's a common stereotype atheists face and it's an incredibly pernicious one, made even worse because it was repeated by a celebrity of Winfrey's stature.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/atheists-can-appreciate-the-natural-world-without-a-nod-to-god/2013/10/18/e0643f5c-377b-11e3-ae46-e4248e75c8ea_story.html Atheists can appreciate the natural world without a nod to God] ''The Washington Post'' 18 October 2013</ref>}}

==External links==
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1595853/ ''Miracle Detectives''] at the Internet Movie Database
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYbXa1JuL2A MADtv Oprah with Phil change a life (Bow down to Oprah, infidels.)] parody

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winfrey, Oprah}}
[[Category:Billionaires]]
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Atheophobia]]

Categories: Billionaires, California, Living people, Media, Pseudoscience promoters, Atheophobia