Monday, January 24, 2011

OPRAH's "OWN" Sister.........imagine?

Oprah has a half-sister she never knew about......imagine this girl finding out she shares a mother with a billionaire as famous as Winfrey?
Here's the linked article:

Oprah Winfrey on Monday revealed that a Milwaukee woman named Patricia was the half-sister Oprah never knew about until November.
"Yes, it is true," Winfrey told the audience of her daytime talk program, "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
"It is true that my mother, my mother Vernita is also Patricia's birth mother. That means Patricia is my half sister who I never knew existed," Winfrey said.
Patricia, whose last name was not revealed, appeared on Winfrey's show and said she had been raised in foster homes since age 7.
Oprah's mom, Vernita Lee, had given Patricia up for adoption because she thought it would be impossible to get off welfare if she had another child, she said.
Winfrey, 56, said she had no idea she had a half-sister because at the time Lee was pregnant, she was only nine years old and living with her father.
Patricia said she first learned she was Winfrey's half sister in 2007, but kept it a secret because she knew it would create a media frenzy.
Winfrey's personal life has been well documented. She was born in Mississippi to unmarried parents and raised by her grandmother early in her childhood. During her teen years she was shuttled between parents, and was the victim of abuse.
But Winfrey was able to rise above her difficulties, get an education and launch a career in broadcasting.
As a young woman, she moved to Chicago to work in TV news and eventually hosted her own TV talk show. She is now considered the most powerful women in U.S. media with co-ownership of newly-launched TV network, OWN

We talked about TV below (and thanks for your comments)....what do you think of OPRAH WINFREY?  ....about her ability to overcome the odds, her huge success, her charities, all that you've heard of her;  What are your views on her?     Think she'll help her new half-sister out? :-)
z

30 comments:

Ducky's here said...

I'm proud to say I have never watched more than two minutes of her show. No sense of missing anything but a lot of New Age bbble.

Bloviating Zeppelin said...

First, Oprah managed to tap into the Chick Quotient and, having done so, is a very talented self-marketer and a crisp businesswoman. She peaked a while ago and is on the downslope of popularity, but she made her millions and millions -- and no one can say she isn't an insightful self-promoter and highly intelligent.

That said, her show is as meaningful, like The View, as the average houseplant.

Don't you suppose the half-sister will show up with her palm out for some Free Coin?

BZ

FrogBurger said...

Never watched the show but she's the proof America is the greatest country of the planet for people of any origin who want to succeed and work at it.

Mark said...

I just wonder how a woman who has fought adversity, and defied the odds by rising to such lofty heights, and realized the American dream can still publicly espouse such entitlement mentality platitudes.

Surely she, more than most, understands the value of hard work and personal responsibility.

Anonymous said...

I stopped watching Oprah about 5-6 years ago when she started acting more like a guru than a talk show host.

I applaud her success, but it really bothers me when folks in entertainment use their fame to promote their cult...err...whatever it is.

Anonymous said...

Miss Winfrey is obviously a very talented woman, intensely intelligent, possessing of unmistakable business sense. I think her philanthropic heart is conditional. I think it is neat that she has established scholarship funds for selected children, but I find myself wondering about her when she buys a poor person a home and then makes sure everyone finds out about it. This sort of behavior reminds me of the kind of shenanigans Presley used to pull. Doing things like that doesn’t really help anyone except the donor —and we might argue it actually harms them.

I agree with the comments of others (above). I haven’t watched her program beyond the time it takes to change the channel. I credit her alone for her success, but I also think that she could not have achieved such success in any other nation. This is significant because she shares the Ă˜bama American-hating view that we are not an exceptional country.

Z said...

Ducky, I had to laugh the other night...I was channel surfing and came upon her talking about her show....Oh, I know, it was on CNN, Piers Morgan interviewed her and asked if she'd had therapy.
I laughed and thought "Of all the therapists and others she's had on her show to work through her 'stuff' with, why would she?" and she practically said the exact same thing.

BZ..not sure if she's on the downslope, you think? With her own network now?
I disagree about THE VIEW and her show...millions of women get the same junk our college kids are getting indoctrinated with at college and they FALL FOR IT as it's subtle and they don't read anything and don't watch real news with two sides presented.
Watch Joy Behar some time on THE VIEW, she actually physically TWITCHES when anything conservative's mentioned...hilarious.

FB>..good point

Hi, Mark! She's into the guilt phase now, I guess? She made it and has to hope others get it for free? :-)

Jen, so true. She really has become a cult; on faith, too. She went waaaay off the plantation...As I said above, she's affecting lots of women with that idiocy, too.

Mustang, excellent...and yes, since she WORSHIPS Obama (as I saw on the Piers Morgan interview...she said "NO!" when he asked if Obama's done anything wrong in her opinion these whole 2 years)...she probably shares his views on America, but I do think she likes it a bit more than he seems to! Of course, so does peat moss.

Anonymous said...

Jen, I agree. I watched Oprah for a few years, but when she took on an air of being an expert on nearly everything, she lost me.

It's a little scary seeing these women who are so smitten with her and hang on every word she utters.

Z, Oprah does seem generous, so I think she may help out her new found sister if she needs help.

Pris

FrogBurger said...

I love any body who makes a ton of money and then does something good with it. I haven't checked but I'm sure Oprah is involved in charities.

That's the best proof of the greatness of capitalism.

It's not perfect b/c humanity is not perfect but it's certainly better than the amount of cash generated by redistribution of wealth.

Z said...

Pris, I think she'll help her sister, too. Heck, it might be nice if she helped Obama's Aunt, too, eh?
Of course, when she helps her sister, she'll do a couple of shows on it and then give her her own show....like she did her friend Gail :-)

FB, she does have charities...I felt badly when she built a school for girls in Africa because we have such a need here for help in our schools...there are terrible areas in inner cities which could prosper with her money and some teachers who believe in discipline, parental involvement and an END TO THE DEPT OF EDUCATION! :-)

Piers Morgan asked Oprah if she was really worth two billion dollars and she said "I can't say...but I know exactly how much I am worth." which kind of surprised me.

Z said...

BZ, by the way, how the HECK does one back OUT of your blog? I read, comment, back click out and ZILCH....I have to get out of the whole thing and then get back in! wassup? There are a few blogs like that and I simply must not have the knack or something!??

FrogBurger said...

FB, she does have charities...I felt badly when she built a school for girls in Africa because we have such a need here for help in our schools...there are terrible areas in inner cities which could prosper with her money and some teachers who believe in discipline, parental involvement and an END TO THE DEPT OF EDUCATION! :-)

Well she's free to put the money wherever she wants. It's hers.

FrogBurger said...

I think she's worth 9b.

Z said...

FB, I hear 2 but you're probably right...maybe it IS 9 billion, imagine?

Yes, she's absolutely entitled to do ANYTHING she wants with it........but I just wish she'd help American kids, that's all..My preference. Like at my church, I keep ensuring that our mission money stays HERE as they used to send to Mexico and, while I'm sure they have a need, those days are OVER...Americans need help, too.

Anonymous said...

Oprah says she's a "teacher". She enjoys enlightening people. I'm not sure what it says about her ability to "enlighten" when her choice for President was Obama and she still thinks he's doing a great job. Something tells me a lot of folks have missed out on her enlightenment or she's not all that enlightened.

She even thinks that MLK would be happy that Obama and the missus have achieved his (MLK's) dream. I thought the dream of MLK was something about a man not being judged by the color of his skin but rather by the content of his character. Even in the race for President Obama wasn't above playing the race card saying that people wouldn't vote for him because he had a different type of name and of course he's a black man as well. Somehow I'm just not be able to see much of value in his character or Oprah's.

Waylon

MathewK said...

I'm happy for her, family is important and i'm glad she found her half-sister.

Z said...

Waylon, I absolutely agree with you. I don't see how anything obama wants is worthy of admiration ... and she's ALL THERE with him.

Actually, I just watched the second half of the show where she introduced her sister. I had no idea she had other sisters and a brother who'd passed away....
I don't watch very often at all but wanted to see this.
Her sister is perfectly lovely and has two really nice grown kids, very nice looking, too. Seemed like very nice people.

Oprah suddenly mentioned her half-sister's faith that she was a very faithful person and that her pastor and his wife were in the audience and, I know I'm highly sensitive to this, but I felt a little disdain on O's part; she's gone off the Christianity of the Bible and now espouses a LOVE IS EVERYTHING type of philosophy I'm sure is VERY loving and cute but highly misses the Christian point. That could get interesting !

MK, you're right...very nice for them both.

Trekkie4Ever said...

She had a hard childhood and overcame great obstacles and was determined to make a better life for herself and succeeded. I give her a lot credit for her determination.

I do not like how she began to mislead people about Jesus Christ, pushing her new age garbage and her liberal political views her audience.

Will she help her half-sister? I believe so, but will make sure the whole world knows about it.

The woman is incapable of doing anything anonymously. She likes the media attention.

RedWood said...

FB....

"but I'm sure Oprah is involved in charities."

She surely is...but they are not, color blind sorry to say. She's ( knowingly or not ) as much as a closet bigot as a Klan member. Sorry folks....her motives are and always have been, racial.

RedWood said...

Leticia...

"Will she help her half-sister?"

Of course...just as much as The One has helped his aunty, an illegal from Kenya.

Betcha ya'll forgot about that one. There's so many cousins in those long forgotten wood sheds it's got to be hard to figure out...who belongs to whom.

RedWood said...

Ms. Z...

"Americans need help, too."


Indeed Ms. Z...including poor whites too. Not just those in all girl African schools...of which she has as much a connection to as Geert Wilders.

And I dare say population wise...there's as many if not more poor whites living in poverty right here in America...than there is in some obscure village in Zimbwabe.

How is it that a woman with such wealth and such media adoration escapes the scrutiny? All charity giving should be color blind in order to be truly charitable...NO?

Z said...

Leticia, she is to be admired for her hard push to make it, isn't she.
But, yes, she's really led people astray regarding Christianity because she started out sounding like a believer and slooowly veered to a place that might be what she likes, and she's entitled, but it isn't Christianity.

RedWood and Leticia, I mentioned Obama's aunt, too...funny we all had that thought..

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

What is an Oprah show? Does it end with a fat lady singing?

Opus #6 said...

Oprah bugged me when she backed Obama, but I understand why she did. 95% of blacks did the same.

I hope these ladies find peace and fellowship. They have both had hard lives. Their rotten childhoods were no fault of their own. I am sad for them and for everybody that gets cheated out of a good childhood by irresponsible parents.

I think part of Oprah's success is due to her, er, unique upbringing. Adversity makes a person more compassionate I have noticed. She certainly has genuine empathy in her interviews that comes through on television.

FrogBurger said...

I have a half sister and who gives a hoot? Egomania at its best.

Oprah could have 12 unknown siblings, be a lesbian and I couldn't care less about her private life. It's none of my business and it's uninteresting.

But it does drive ratings. It's capitalism. At least I get the chance to not watch.

Ducky and I agree on that one :)

FrogBurger said...

Can you imagine if one day I discover Ducky is my uncle?

Geez :D

Z said...

FrogBurger.. ptui!!

Z said...

anyway, frogs, ducks...ca ne marche pas :-)

cube said...

I didn't watch Oprah when she was just a TV personality and I didn't watch Oprah when she became a cult figure. I'm flummoxed by those who do watch Oprah. Honestly, what's to see?

As far as her long-lost sister goes, I'm sure we'll have a well publicized sister-fest if the O decides to extend a helping hand to her sisssy-poo.

Anonymous said...

Oprah must be doing something right. She is a perfect example of the great American success story, and has a lot more going for her than most TV and movie personalities.

So she supported Obama. So what? So did a lot of other Americans many of them perfectly decent, well-meaning people.

Her show i nothing like The View which is nasty as a at pan, and it's nothing like the crap handed out by the networks news and CNN.

So what should Oprah do to satisfy right wing Christy Anns - burn a witch on TV? Paint swastikas on a synagouge at noon time?