Oprah complains about body shaming and forgets her own missteps

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey recently commented on her struggles with obesity in a panel discussion entitled “The Life You Want Class: The State of Weight”: “I don’t know of any other person whose weight issues have been as publicly discussed as mine,” said the 69-year-old American.

She talks about how overweight people are stigmatized. And that, as she gained weight, she was treated differently than before: “We live in a world where people have always been shamed for being overweight.” According to the moderator, people are treated condescendingly, especially while shopping. “People in the stores asked me if I wanted to try gloves or shoes because they didn’t think I would find anything else here,” she continues.

If you listen to Oprah in this discussion, you would almost forget that she, too, has repeatedly made judgmental comments about the bodies of her guests throughout her long career. A review:

In 2015, the monthly magazine ‘O, The Oprah Magazine’ answered the question of who should wear crop tops. The answer, meanwhile, was more about who should not do this under any circumstances: “If (and really only if!) you have a flat stomach, you can try one on.”

Because body positivity was already a household name eight years ago, the angry online reactions did not take long to emerge. In a gesture of protest, scores of women posted photos of their curvy bodies dressed in crop tops under the hashtag #RockTheCrop.

Moments later, the magazine took a stance on the faux pas: “We support, encourage and empower all women to look good, be confident and live their best lives. In this case we could have expressed ourselves better. We are grateful for the feedback and will be more careful from now on.”

In 1986, then twenty-year-old Cindy Crawford was invited to Oprah’s talk show. In the context of the documentary ‘The Super Models’, the top model remembers her performance at the time. She sees him with different eyes today, she tells the camera. She said she felt treated like an object when Oprah asked her to stand up and present her body.

So far, Oprah has not commented on the model’s comment. However, shortly before the documentary in question was released, she had the controversial interview removed from her YouTube channel.

Crawford wasn’t the only model whose body was discussed on Oprah’s talk show. The Olsen twins, Ashley and Mary-Kate, also faced unpleasant questions. In 2004, the It girls, who were not even of age yet, were in Oprah’s studio. The presenter asked the twins about rumors that Mary-Kate had an eating disorder. When the two explain that they try to ignore such reports, Oprah interrupts them and wants to know what size clothes they are actually wearing.

Although they are visibly uncomfortable with the question and try to avoid it with “I don’t know,” Oprah continues to ask questions. In the background the audience laughs at the troubled teenagers.