Oprah Already Has A Favorite Democratic Candidate – And It’s Not Who You Think
When the Queen of all media talks, the world listens.
Oprah Winfrey is the new cover girl for The Hollywood Reporter's April 2019 issue, and in her cover story, she dropped some gems about never dimming her light and responded to the backlash over the Leaving Neverland controversy.
What took many by surprise, though, was her somewhat casual endorsement of Pete Buttigieg for the 2020 election.
"Right now, I'd probably want to sit down and talk to Butta [Buttigieg]," she said in one quote.
When the interviewer suggested that "'Mayor Pete' feels easier," she added, "I like saying 'Butta,'" before praising his book, Shortest Way Home.
"I call him Buttabeep, Buttaboop," she continued. "The name's either going to really hurt or [really help] — I think it's going to help, actually. Just the other day, I was at Apple with Spielberg and we were in the hallway talking about, 'What are we going to do?' And I said, 'Have you heard of this Butta guy?' He goes, 'No, Butta-who?' I go, 'Buttabeep, Buttaboop. Look him up."
While Winfrey is clearly charmed by Buttigieg, she explained that she is "quietly figuring out where I'm going to use my voice in support."
"I have Kamala's book," she added. "I just got the Vanity Fair piece on Beto [O'Rourke]. I'd done some research background stuff on him before. I already know Cory [Booker]."
All in all, Twitter seems pleased with her admiration of Buttigieg. See their reactions, below:
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She also candidly addressed the negative response the public seemed to have to her Leaving Neverland interview, stressing, "I don't regret it."
"I saw it, and I was shaken by it," she said of the controversial HBO documentary. "I wasn't even shaken by the fact that it was Michael Jackson, I was shaken by the fact that [filmmaker] Dan Reed had done a really good job of showing the pattern, and for years, I had been trying to show people the pattern. I'd been trying to say it's not about the moment, it's about the seduction."
Specifically touching on the hate, she added, "Oh, the hateration? Honeeeeey, I haven't had that much hateration since The Puppy Episode with Ellen."
After comparing the massive backlash to the racially charged hate she received for her appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' sitcom in 1997, she admitted that she decided, "You know what? This isn't going to be healthy for me, so I just didn't engage with it."
Elsewhere in the interview, she shared what she told the Obamas after learning of them beginning their own production company, her advice to her best friend, Gayle King, on renewing her CBS News contract, and more. Read it all, in full, here.
