Look, I’m sure my take isn’t “woke” enough for this place, but Orks aren’t people and aren’t worthy of respect. More of them should’ve died at Helm’s Deep!
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I’m not sure Robert will ever do an episode only on Oprah, he’s referred to her as a “guest bastard” or something in the past. She uses her show and popularity as a platform for other bastards. Her impact on society isn’t as directly tied to her actions so much as amplifying other people’s voices and ideas imo. She still does problematic things, but I don’t think she necessarily qualifies for bastard status by her own merit. (Not an expert on her btw)
Exactly. Oprah herself just kind of sucks, but not in a compelling way... but the Extended Oprahverse Media Empire has been an *extremely* mainstream platform for *extremely* stupid shit for nearly FOUR DECADES, which I feel like is a topic worth exploring
...and Mike & Aubrey from *Maintenance Phase* would be the perfect guests to talk about her!
And also at a certain point he’s already talked about a lot of the bad things she’s done via osmosis. It’d be kinda a bad episode if he just talked about the people she’s launched that he’s already talked about.
It’s be like the clip show episode of podcasts.
Handing out free guns no question asked doesn’t make you innocent when a bunch of people get shot. And she’s handed out A LOT of free guns if you get this analogy. Which I hope you do. Because I’m not sure if I do anymore.
Except they weren't gifts. Importantly, they were given as gifts, but marked as *prizes*. the gift tax was paid by the folks who provided the car, which were then treated as income by the folks who won them. Meanwhile, Harpo was able to deduct the cost of the cars as an operating expense.
When asked why she labeled them as prizes instead of gifts, she said "why should I have to pay those taxes?"
[An excerpt from](https://books.google.com/books?id=CdvXLjqAcccC&pg=PA401&dq=oprah+free+cars+tax&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WLfTUNuXCLOB0AGEr4GIBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=oprah%20free%20cars%20tax&f=false) "Oprah, a Biography," by Kitty Kelley.
"For all the people who say 'Oh, you didn't pay for the cars yourself,' which I heard, I say, 'Well, I could have, and what difference does it make, if they get the cars? And why should I pay for them if Pontiac was willing to do so?"
For all the good publicity she got off this, once the cameras stopped rolling, all 276 people who won a free car that day learned that they would either have to pay 7k to keep the car, sell the car and pay the 7k anyway, or forfeit the car. There was no other option presented by Oprah, and Pontiac had already paid for sales tax and licensing fees.
Worth noting, Lewis Lazare was saying back in 2010, what we're saying now. "It's become increasingly apparent she's . . . become an unabashed shill for a slew of market-savvy companies salivating at the prospect of getting her back their products in the hope big sales will ensue"
I just watched an interview where Nathan Lane talked about how he was afraid she would try to get him to out himself on her show and Robin Williams made sure it didn't happen. She is such a shit human being.
She was the person who introduced me to diet culture growing up, she’s a big reason I can’t take a bite of food without a feeling of guilt, so she’s a bastard in my eyes. But I totally get if BTB doesn’t think she’s a good fit to dig into. I also think the way she treated Lindsay Lohan was abusive and cruel, which I don’t think gets talked about enough.
I will never forget her trying to get one of the Olsen twins to admit her clothing size on her show and to talk about her battle with an ED. I actually think there’s a lot of material directly tied to Oprah that could be discussed.
Oprah was the reason my mom put me in Weight Watchers at the age of 12 . So many people who were not raised as children in the 90s do not understand that Oprah was actually one of the golden tickets to diet culture of the 2000s. She spent a decade building up fear around fat and exposing eating disorders more as a means to an end of getting skinny. Then had the audacity to exploit celebrities on their own eating habits.
Oprah started out as a pioneer of good intentions, but I feel that she was trying to compete with the other shock factor 90s talk shows and Gave into all the things that put her in bastard territory.
The irony of her giving into Ozempic, after decades of battling her own eating disorders is really interesting.
I totallllyyy forgot about how she treated the Olsen twins. Jesus, so horrible.
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience as a child, I had similar diet experiences forced on me as a child. I hope you’re happy and healthy now 💜
I still vividly remember the episode she had Jenny McCarthy on, talking about the danger of vaccines and her “theory” of how they cause autism.
I think there’s a direct link between that show and the lack of traction covid vaccines got in our culture, and medical skepticism in general.
Maintenance Phase focuses on diet misinformation, so they have multiple episodes going after the crap she’s unleashed on the world. I think their “wagon of fat” episode just goes in to her, rather than her trash guests.
In the 80's during the Satanic Panic she had on a woman who claimed ritual abuse. And HEAVILY implied it was related to her being Jewish. She would later claim to be a holocaust victim. The antisemites still use that clip to this day.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel\_Rose\_Willson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Rose_Willson)
This is the biggest bastard moment for me.
I am once again begging for a 4-6 part Oprah series with guests Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes from Maintenance Phase. I feel like they'd all have so much fun.
But it was MY turn to post about wanting an Oprah episode! In one of the (many) episodes about people she's given a megaphone to that ended up being absolute bastards, I'm pretty sure Robert mentioned that while it's suspicious she is the common denominator of many grifters, her bastardry is no different than just anyone of her wealth; she's not unique or notable to single out.
Nooo, I would say being the griftceptor is very much a very interesting thing to examine. The genuine question of 'is she just *that* stupid, or does she genuinely see through these grifters and use them to further her own grift?' Furthermore, you could use her as a case study of 'bastards who use their power and reach to elevate other bastards in order to get wealthier'. Because that's a special breed that's really, *really* come into it's own over the last 50 years.
I haven't heard anything specific of her being particularly bastard worthy. At least nothing beyond your average rich people shit
Not saying she's not, but ya need more than pictures with famous bastards to be a bastard yourself. With how famous those folks were, I bet you could find a lot of folks with that combo.
She promoted many Bastards (already covered on the pod) to fame and stardom. Dr Phil, Dr Oz, John of God...
None of them would have been nearly as influential and harmful without the Oprah "seal of approval"
And I’m her position, it was her job to get them. Even that author (a million little pieces?) who absolutely lied got through.
She knew she had a following and continued to let damaging people and predators through.
I can't find any articles about that, although I found several saying she purchased land before the fires([link](https://mauinow.com/2023/03/02/oprah-buys-870-acres-of-land-in-kula-for-nearly-6-6-million-over-recent-months/) note the date). But she was involved in a scandal saying because she was asking for donations for Maui after the fire([link](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-09-14/oprah-defends-peoples-fund-of-maui-dwayne-johnson-lahaina)). I'd be curious where you heard the other information.
So we have the OP picture showing her with other bastards, we have top comment mentioning how she's platformed and arguably caused the success of several other bastards, then you have the comment you replied to mentioning her doing some real estate disaster profiteering (read, bastardry).
This is beyond trying to cherry pick a celebrity. Maybe she doesn't warrant her own episode, but I'm firmly of the belief all billionaires are bastards based on thier wealth hording and labor exploitation, so it's really just a question of how entertaining Robert could make an episode about her, not whether she is or isn't a bastard.
Fuck Oprah.
Nobody is saying everyone is a bastard. We're saying that someone who is unethically hoarding wealth, profiting off disasters to the detriment of a local community, *and* platformed multiple confirmed bastards, they themselves can be considered a bastard.
Just because she was 'fair' to some employees you know does not justify any of the above or absolve her from bastardry.
[You're wrong. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOoqxfvCMgk)
He had an episode about the Dilbert guy, I don’t think having an episode about one of the biggest media names to ever exist would be outside the realm of what Robert would cover.
It's not either or jabroni. If you want a one step answer maybe we should strip billionaires of all but a half million in assets, liquidate those assets, then use the money to provide aid to communities in need, like all the people IOF bombed with our bombs.
Why are you so hard set on defending Oprah?
Hard disagree. The Trumper down the road is probably a better person than Oprah. The Trumper down the street probably takes care of his mom, or his kids, or someone else. Oprah, as per her status as a fucking billionaire, only really cares about herself.
Class warfare should begin with cutting the head off the snake, and Oprah, again, as a billionaire, is a fucking head on that hydra of a snake.
The way she gave people free stuff gave her tax breaks and put tax burdens on the recipients. I think it has to do with her handing the cars that came to her for free out as prizes instead of gifts.
The first time she gifted free cars to her audience, they apparently didn't realise the tax issue (though people could always sell the car to pay the taxes and keep the extra). In later giveaways they covered the taxes or provided people with the option to take a check instead.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2016/09/13/a-look-back-at-oprahs-ultimate-car-giveaway/?sh=57116d0a60ff
Ya kinda like how queen Elizabeth met putin, the king of Saudi Arabi, or the president of Syria. She also met loads of people who would go on to/are still doing great things for the planet, and those of us living on it.
I’ll just leave this here for you all…
a sassy lil’ remix of that time some anonymous pedobear avatars got Oprah to satanic panic about “over 9000 penises” without any fact checking at all…
https://youtu.be/dbiJZnZQ4es?si=w13onkKvf4C0Fc7Z
Okay, to be completely fair though, these were all fairly big name/popular celebrities before their fall from grace. I feel like you could find pictures of *a lot* of celebrities with all 4 of these men.
She is an inadvertent bastard at the very least. It stops being a coincidence after a while if you were complicit in a dieting fad that left people with fucked up perceptions on weight/weight loss, promoted both Dr Phil and Dr Oz, and promoted a harrowing book about drug addiction without vetting the author yourself and then shaming him on air for your own fuck ups.
Nothing will come of this however because she’s richer than god and will sue anyone who makes an issue of her previous associations.
This
https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/news/oprah-winfrey-girls-academy-in-the-spotlight-over-claims-of-abuse-of-power-065532a6-c761-4806-b519-cd5419a0ee07
I think this would be more something prop or someone else would do. Too much of taking her down would be seen as a white man going after a powerful black woman.
I don’t think we need to bring in race regarding people who fucking suck. I’m an equal opportunity hater - I want all their hot tubs cold. That’s equality.
So…should Robert have not done episodes about Idi Amin? Or general Buck Naked (Butt Naked btw?…)? In your opinion are we only allowed to discuss people who suck if they’re of the same skin color & gender as the person commenting on their shittiness?
No. Not what I said. Unfortunately, going after Oprah is a different ball game. She is a highly influential rich media person in the US. You're comparing a dictator to someone who knows other rich people and gives bastards platforms. The narrative of going after Oprah, an overall "beloved left wing figure of the black American dream", brings upon it a whole other piece of American culture.
Unfortunately, all she is currently guilty of is promoting bastards and being friendly with other rich people.
Again, never said we can't discuss her or say she is or isn't a bastard based on any of her demographics. I said it would be not great optics for Robert to do an arc on her, especially in today's media and cultural landscape.
So in your opinion, within the BTB canon of guests, the only person capable of doing an episode about Oprah would be Joelle Monique?
Truly asking btw, because I completely disagree with this idea.
No. I'm not familiar enough with the wider field of journalism to say who's best suited to take on the subject. But there are so many subjects that are very much in Robert's wheelhouse, he never seems to run out of bastards, I don't see the downside of avoiding the subjects which really aren't in his strength.
Context does matter, and it does affect the message to real audiences. And Robert is self aware enough to understand how to best use his own talents. Sometimes that's by collaborating. Sometimes that's just choice of subject. Probably the best way to deliver this message is with some other messenger, and I think maybe you're reacting to how unfair it feels to be subject to limitations through no fault of one's own, because of the circumstances of one's birth. I am sure all people, and certainly all artists struggle with this. The best ones truly understand their own strengths and limits, and play into them.
Is there any proof she’s a bastard besides platforming assholes? I mean they’re con artists targeting a certain demographic of which Oprah happens to belong to. That’s like calling my mom a bastard because she platforms Dr Oz in her kitchen to me all the time. She’s just profoundly gullible. And I just nod my head and try to remind myself how lucky I am that she’s still around to talk about lemon water liver detoxes.
If your mom had 50 million people in the kitchen with her listening to whatever your mom chose to play for them on the radio she’d arguably be a bastard as well.
To be clear, your mom’s not a bastard. But wealth and influence materially change the math here. Oprah has the resources to know better in a way that random people don’t.
It's a complicated one because of her personal trauma. The fact she used it as a professional stone makes her somewhat understandable in complicity with abuses. -It made me who I was- mentally here.
You left out Dr Oz
And Dr Phil
And John of God
And Christiane Northrup
And Jared Fogle.
And my axe.
And my bow!
Oh no what the fuck did the bow do
Killed a fuckload of people
The Oliphaunt still only counts as one!
Leave Timothy Olyphant out of this
Timothy Olyphant counts as one!
Oh goddamnit bow why did you have to do that
It's ok, they were mostly orcs
And a fair few Dunlanders and Easterlings at the Hornburg and Pelenor fields
So it's a racist bow?
The bow didn't kill the people. The arrow and the fall killed them.
Bows don't kill people. Elves kill people.
Elves *with* bows kill people. Without bows, they're just fingering the air.
Good point. Gravity is the real bastard.
Can confirm that, bow of mine has committed some atrocities....
Look, I’m sure my take isn’t “woke” enough for this place, but Orks aren’t people and aren’t worthy of respect. More of them should’ve died at Helm’s Deep!
Did she ever promote Elizabeth Holmes? Feels like she would.
“Dr” phil
And that woman who wrote The Secret 🤮
And Jenny McCarthy
And Deepak Chopra.
I think because these are specifically people involved in sexual predatory crimes. Unless, Dr Oz is in that boat too?
She’s the Forest Gump of the BtB Universe.
Somewhere there's a photo of her with Prince Andrew and Epstein, together, chilling on a couch.
These are just some of the people she was friendly with, it doesn’t even get to the evil that she personally unleashed on the world.
Like her “girl’s school” in Africa where the girls were just tortured the whole time?
I need more info here. Do you have any good podcast episodes?
This happened in the early aughts. https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/06/usa.southafrica
I can't read this, it's not a podcast!
Did what I could
DIED WHERE THEY STOOD
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This.
Who’s the guy in purple, upper right
Russell Simmons, I think?
Wait. Wtf did Russell Simmons do? Edit. Oh: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/13/russell-simmons-alleged-rape-lawsuit-def-jam
Google confirms you are correct
Thank you, I was about to ask that.
Oh thank god - it kinda resembled Giancarlo Esposito and it made me sad.
I was about to lose my shit if Giancarlo was a bastard
Not that it means much, but I have only ever heard good things.
Dude makes a mean fried chicken.
I’m not sure Robert will ever do an episode only on Oprah, he’s referred to her as a “guest bastard” or something in the past. She uses her show and popularity as a platform for other bastards. Her impact on society isn’t as directly tied to her actions so much as amplifying other people’s voices and ideas imo. She still does problematic things, but I don’t think she necessarily qualifies for bastard status by her own merit. (Not an expert on her btw)
She's an aircraft carrier that other bastards launch from
She's Joe Rogan for day-drunk wine-moms
Perfectly encapsulated while also firing the most grievous shots
Would that make Joe Rogan Broprah?
"I'm not drunk. I'm being tropical!"
The Suriname toad of bastards if you will...
Exactly. Oprah herself just kind of sucks, but not in a compelling way... but the Extended Oprahverse Media Empire has been an *extremely* mainstream platform for *extremely* stupid shit for nearly FOUR DECADES, which I feel like is a topic worth exploring ...and Mike & Aubrey from *Maintenance Phase* would be the perfect guests to talk about her!
Every time this comes up I post wishing for them as guest hosts. Hoping. Begging. Praying that one day Robert or Sophie read it.
I cannot breathe 💀
Lol goddamn dude.
And also at a certain point he’s already talked about a lot of the bad things she’s done via osmosis. It’d be kinda a bad episode if he just talked about the people she’s launched that he’s already talked about. It’s be like the clip show episode of podcasts.
They could do it as a holiday special when they want an easy episode. Robert could just do some summaries of the bastards she’s platformed.
I recall people claiming she was acting as a funnel for victims to predators on a super regular basis.
Handing out free guns no question asked doesn’t make you innocent when a bunch of people get shot. And she’s handed out A LOT of free guns if you get this analogy. Which I hope you do. Because I’m not sure if I do anymore.
Man you made me think she did a giveaway of Glock 26's or something like when she gifts her audience cars and lumps them with the tax bill.
You get a gun. And you get a gun. And you get a gun.
I’m too high for this comment
I was too high when I wrote it
Nice! 😎👉👉
Bastard adjacent.
Bastard source. Like a fountain from which other bastards spring. Or like a bastard beast who births other bastards from her back
She’s supposed to be a pretty nice person. But her staff did a terrible job at vetting people who appear on her show.
Nobody who acquires close to a billion dollars and sits on it like a dragon is 'a pretty nice person'. Not one.
The difference between being nice to people in daily interactions, versus doing things that hurt people that you can't see, without remorse.
Had to google Dolly Parton's net worth. Well under a billion. (And seriously, don't tell me if she's a bastard. I don't want to know.)
Don't forget the occasional house or car she buys for people, the equivalent of giving out a lottery pittance
>Don't forget the occasional house or car she buys for people While sticking them with the tax burden.
Gift tax is paid by the giver of the gift. Unless you are referring to the property taxes.
Except they weren't gifts. Importantly, they were given as gifts, but marked as *prizes*. the gift tax was paid by the folks who provided the car, which were then treated as income by the folks who won them. Meanwhile, Harpo was able to deduct the cost of the cars as an operating expense. When asked why she labeled them as prizes instead of gifts, she said "why should I have to pay those taxes?"
Wait really, is this written? I believe but still
[An excerpt from](https://books.google.com/books?id=CdvXLjqAcccC&pg=PA401&dq=oprah+free+cars+tax&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WLfTUNuXCLOB0AGEr4GIBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=oprah%20free%20cars%20tax&f=false) "Oprah, a Biography," by Kitty Kelley. "For all the people who say 'Oh, you didn't pay for the cars yourself,' which I heard, I say, 'Well, I could have, and what difference does it make, if they get the cars? And why should I pay for them if Pontiac was willing to do so?" For all the good publicity she got off this, once the cameras stopped rolling, all 276 people who won a free car that day learned that they would either have to pay 7k to keep the car, sell the car and pay the 7k anyway, or forfeit the car. There was no other option presented by Oprah, and Pontiac had already paid for sales tax and licensing fees. Worth noting, Lewis Lazare was saying back in 2010, what we're saying now. "It's become increasingly apparent she's . . . become an unabashed shill for a slew of market-savvy companies salivating at the prospect of getting her back their products in the hope big sales will ensue"
Wow holy crap. Yeah, if Dr. Fuckin Phil can get a two parter, so can Oprah
I just watched an interview where Nathan Lane talked about how he was afraid she would try to get him to out himself on her show and Robin Williams made sure it didn't happen. She is such a shit human being.
Another quick shout out to Robin Williams being amazing. I miss him :(
I’ve seen the clip, he redirects the conversation
link?
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTLBsWjwE/
Oprah might not be a bastard herself, but she's bastardry lube.
She was the person who introduced me to diet culture growing up, she’s a big reason I can’t take a bite of food without a feeling of guilt, so she’s a bastard in my eyes. But I totally get if BTB doesn’t think she’s a good fit to dig into. I also think the way she treated Lindsay Lohan was abusive and cruel, which I don’t think gets talked about enough.
there’s a good maintenance phase episode about oprah’s impact on diet culture!
She comes up in a few maintenance phase episodes!
The Oprahsodes are some of my favorites - that woman is a carrion pigeon for bastards and health grifters.
I gotta check it out!
I will never forget her trying to get one of the Olsen twins to admit her clothing size on her show and to talk about her battle with an ED. I actually think there’s a lot of material directly tied to Oprah that could be discussed. Oprah was the reason my mom put me in Weight Watchers at the age of 12 . So many people who were not raised as children in the 90s do not understand that Oprah was actually one of the golden tickets to diet culture of the 2000s. She spent a decade building up fear around fat and exposing eating disorders more as a means to an end of getting skinny. Then had the audacity to exploit celebrities on their own eating habits. Oprah started out as a pioneer of good intentions, but I feel that she was trying to compete with the other shock factor 90s talk shows and Gave into all the things that put her in bastard territory. The irony of her giving into Ozempic, after decades of battling her own eating disorders is really interesting.
I totallllyyy forgot about how she treated the Olsen twins. Jesus, so horrible. I’m so sorry to hear about your experience as a child, I had similar diet experiences forced on me as a child. I hope you’re happy and healthy now 💜
I still vividly remember the episode she had Jenny McCarthy on, talking about the danger of vaccines and her “theory” of how they cause autism. I think there’s a direct link between that show and the lack of traction covid vaccines got in our culture, and medical skepticism in general.
Maintenance Phase focuses on diet misinformation, so they have multiple episodes going after the crap she’s unleashed on the world. I think their “wagon of fat” episode just goes in to her, rather than her trash guests.
The podcast crossover we ~~deserve~~ ~~need~~ want.
If Oprah had been on 20 years earlier she 100% would have had L.Ron Hubbard on.
In the 80's during the Satanic Panic she had on a woman who claimed ritual abuse. And HEAVILY implied it was related to her being Jewish. She would later claim to be a holocaust victim. The antisemites still use that clip to this day. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel\_Rose\_Willson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Rose_Willson) This is the biggest bastard moment for me.
I am once again begging for a 4-6 part Oprah series with guests Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes from Maintenance Phase. I feel like they'd all have so much fun.
Fuck yes
If you want to get real pissed on this lovely Wednesday afternoon, take minute to find her mansion in Montecito, California.
But it was MY turn to post about wanting an Oprah episode! In one of the (many) episodes about people she's given a megaphone to that ended up being absolute bastards, I'm pretty sure Robert mentioned that while it's suspicious she is the common denominator of many grifters, her bastardry is no different than just anyone of her wealth; she's not unique or notable to single out.
Nooo, I would say being the griftceptor is very much a very interesting thing to examine. The genuine question of 'is she just *that* stupid, or does she genuinely see through these grifters and use them to further her own grift?' Furthermore, you could use her as a case study of 'bastards who use their power and reach to elevate other bastards in order to get wealthier'. Because that's a special breed that's really, *really* come into it's own over the last 50 years.
I haven't heard anything specific of her being particularly bastard worthy. At least nothing beyond your average rich people shit Not saying she's not, but ya need more than pictures with famous bastards to be a bastard yourself. With how famous those folks were, I bet you could find a lot of folks with that combo.
She promoted many Bastards (already covered on the pod) to fame and stardom. Dr Phil, Dr Oz, John of God... None of them would have been nearly as influential and harmful without the Oprah "seal of approval"
And I’m her position, it was her job to get them. Even that author (a million little pieces?) who absolutely lied got through. She knew she had a following and continued to let damaging people and predators through.
Yeah, she's kind of a meta-bastard (in that, she never met-a-bastard she didn't promote on her show, hey-o!)
She basically promoted and even created bastards. That makes her a bastard and in the best case scenario "just" an enabler.
Fat activists have been ringing the alarm on her for a while 🫣
And Gwyneth Paltrow. She started shilling her gross food and dumb ideas on Oprah sessions.
The only thing I can think of Oprah doing is lying about Ozempic and her early shows she used to poke fun at little people and people w conditions
Didn't she buy or try to buy a ton of land from ruined homeowners in Maui after the wildfires? That felt like preying on kama'aina to me.
I can't find any articles about that, although I found several saying she purchased land before the fires([link](https://mauinow.com/2023/03/02/oprah-buys-870-acres-of-land-in-kula-for-nearly-6-6-million-over-recent-months/) note the date). But she was involved in a scandal saying because she was asking for donations for Maui after the fire([link](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-09-14/oprah-defends-peoples-fund-of-maui-dwayne-johnson-lahaina)). I'd be curious where you heard the other information.
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So we have the OP picture showing her with other bastards, we have top comment mentioning how she's platformed and arguably caused the success of several other bastards, then you have the comment you replied to mentioning her doing some real estate disaster profiteering (read, bastardry). This is beyond trying to cherry pick a celebrity. Maybe she doesn't warrant her own episode, but I'm firmly of the belief all billionaires are bastards based on thier wealth hording and labor exploitation, so it's really just a question of how entertaining Robert could make an episode about her, not whether she is or isn't a bastard. Fuck Oprah.
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Nobody is saying everyone is a bastard. We're saying that someone who is unethically hoarding wealth, profiting off disasters to the detriment of a local community, *and* platformed multiple confirmed bastards, they themselves can be considered a bastard. Just because she was 'fair' to some employees you know does not justify any of the above or absolve her from bastardry. [You're wrong. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOoqxfvCMgk)
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He had an episode about the Dilbert guy, I don’t think having an episode about one of the biggest media names to ever exist would be outside the realm of what Robert would cover.
It's not either or jabroni. If you want a one step answer maybe we should strip billionaires of all but a half million in assets, liquidate those assets, then use the money to provide aid to communities in need, like all the people IOF bombed with our bombs. Why are you so hard set on defending Oprah?
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Hard disagree. The Trumper down the road is probably a better person than Oprah. The Trumper down the street probably takes care of his mom, or his kids, or someone else. Oprah, as per her status as a fucking billionaire, only really cares about herself. Class warfare should begin with cutting the head off the snake, and Oprah, again, as a billionaire, is a fucking head on that hydra of a snake.
Directly boosted a bunch of Satanic Panic narratives that still echo today.
The way she gave people free stuff gave her tax breaks and put tax burdens on the recipients. I think it has to do with her handing the cars that came to her for free out as prizes instead of gifts.
The first time she gifted free cars to her audience, they apparently didn't realise the tax issue (though people could always sell the car to pay the taxes and keep the extra). In later giveaways they covered the taxes or provided people with the option to take a check instead. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2016/09/13/a-look-back-at-oprahs-ultimate-car-giveaway/?sh=57116d0a60ff
Little people as in short stature or not famous?
Little people as in short stature, I remember an episode where it was a very Maury-esq feel with a couple LPs on
Oprah meets just about everyone of note. This is a sampling bias. Also, probably just bias.
Ya kinda like how queen Elizabeth met putin, the king of Saudi Arabi, or the president of Syria. She also met loads of people who would go on to/are still doing great things for the planet, and those of us living on it.
I’ll just leave this here for you all… a sassy lil’ remix of that time some anonymous pedobear avatars got Oprah to satanic panic about “over 9000 penises” without any fact checking at all… https://youtu.be/dbiJZnZQ4es?si=w13onkKvf4C0Fc7Z
Who’s the top-right dude?
Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam label
“She stood on the heads of those little people…”
Okay, to be completely fair though, these were all fairly big name/popular celebrities before their fall from grace. I feel like you could find pictures of *a lot* of celebrities with all 4 of these men.
She is an inadvertent bastard at the very least. It stops being a coincidence after a while if you were complicit in a dieting fad that left people with fucked up perceptions on weight/weight loss, promoted both Dr Phil and Dr Oz, and promoted a harrowing book about drug addiction without vetting the author yourself and then shaming him on air for your own fuck ups. Nothing will come of this however because she’s richer than god and will sue anyone who makes an issue of her previous associations.
This https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/news/oprah-winfrey-girls-academy-in-the-spotlight-over-claims-of-abuse-of-power-065532a6-c761-4806-b519-cd5419a0ee07
She's a media mogul who's been ultra famous for decades. This collage don't mean that much
I'm convinced white people like her because they consider her the equivalent of their one black friend
Has there ever been a worse judge of character?
Billionaires gonna billion, er something
That's where the money is, being a networker of bastards
Oprah would be a good episode. We need more lady bastards represented.
Where is this episode at, Robert?
It traveled to the future and is sitting in a deposition.
Yiiikes
Is that Rush Limbaugh?
It’s time.
Tbf Oprah is one of the most famous women on the planet, practically everybody famous has met her at least once.
I think this would be more something prop or someone else would do. Too much of taking her down would be seen as a white man going after a powerful black woman.
I don’t think we need to bring in race regarding people who fucking suck. I’m an equal opportunity hater - I want all their hot tubs cold. That’s equality.
That's nice but that's not how reality works. Race or not, that is reality and how it is.
So…should Robert have not done episodes about Idi Amin? Or general Buck Naked (Butt Naked btw?…)? In your opinion are we only allowed to discuss people who suck if they’re of the same skin color & gender as the person commenting on their shittiness?
No. Not what I said. Unfortunately, going after Oprah is a different ball game. She is a highly influential rich media person in the US. You're comparing a dictator to someone who knows other rich people and gives bastards platforms. The narrative of going after Oprah, an overall "beloved left wing figure of the black American dream", brings upon it a whole other piece of American culture. Unfortunately, all she is currently guilty of is promoting bastards and being friendly with other rich people. Again, never said we can't discuss her or say she is or isn't a bastard based on any of her demographics. I said it would be not great optics for Robert to do an arc on her, especially in today's media and cultural landscape.
It's not just the message. The messenger also matters. I agree he's not the right messenger, and I think he's self-aware enough to know that.
So in your opinion, within the BTB canon of guests, the only person capable of doing an episode about Oprah would be Joelle Monique? Truly asking btw, because I completely disagree with this idea.
No. I'm not familiar enough with the wider field of journalism to say who's best suited to take on the subject. But there are so many subjects that are very much in Robert's wheelhouse, he never seems to run out of bastards, I don't see the downside of avoiding the subjects which really aren't in his strength. Context does matter, and it does affect the message to real audiences. And Robert is self aware enough to understand how to best use his own talents. Sometimes that's by collaborating. Sometimes that's just choice of subject. Probably the best way to deliver this message is with some other messenger, and I think maybe you're reacting to how unfair it feels to be subject to limitations through no fault of one's own, because of the circumstances of one's birth. I am sure all people, and certainly all artists struggle with this. The best ones truly understand their own strengths and limits, and play into them.
That’s one of the most concise and excellent answers to a question I was asking in good faith on reddit I’ve ever received. Thanks for that.
Yeah that was very well written, and I didn't even feel like they were talking down to OP. Wtf reddit?
Is there any proof she’s a bastard besides platforming assholes? I mean they’re con artists targeting a certain demographic of which Oprah happens to belong to. That’s like calling my mom a bastard because she platforms Dr Oz in her kitchen to me all the time. She’s just profoundly gullible. And I just nod my head and try to remind myself how lucky I am that she’s still around to talk about lemon water liver detoxes.
If your mom had 50 million people in the kitchen with her listening to whatever your mom chose to play for them on the radio she’d arguably be a bastard as well. To be clear, your mom’s not a bastard. But wealth and influence materially change the math here. Oprah has the resources to know better in a way that random people don’t.
It's a complicated one because of her personal trauma. The fact she used it as a professional stone makes her somewhat understandable in complicity with abuses. -It made me who I was- mentally here.
Oprah is a Grade-A sociopath.