Oprah Winfrey Responds To Critics
Some people (a blogger and a biologist, among others) are publicly criticizing Oprah Winfrey for "abus[ing] her influence and credibility by promoting health 'cures' that are ineffective and dangerous" on her daytime talk show. Oprah issued a statement in response.
'For 23 years, my show has presented thousands of topics that reflect
the human experience, including doctors' medical advice and personal
health stories that have prompted conversations between our audience
members and their health care providers,' Winfrey says in a statement. 'I trust the viewers, and I know that they are smart and discerning
enough to seek out medical opinions to determine what may be best for
them.' "
When it comes to guests who are spreading misinformation, Suzanne Somers, Jenny McCarthy, and Christiane Northrup were identified.
Do you agree with the criticism, Oprah's response, or is this whole issue a tempest in a teapot?
Photos by INF
8980 points
Unfortunately, Oprah is way wrong if she thinks her viewers are smart enough to seek advice from a doctor and not her or her guests for that matter. She is really not in reality. Many viewers look to Jenny McCarthy for advice on Autism, as if she knew some magical cure or something. Whatever! Many of Oprah's viewers went right out and started bio-identicals the day after Suzanne Sommers talked about hormone replacement. The truth is, we are ALL different and not one person is going to react to the same things as any other person. What works for one is not necessarily good for another. I personally cannot stand Jenny's arrogance about Autism and "curing" her son. She is VERY misleading to the public on that front and for Oprah to honestly think that there are not millions of women out there that hang on her every word is riduculous!
9355 points
yeah! every word you said.
She never said she cured him. She stated what personal experiences worked for her and she told her story. Which as you stated, doesn't apply to everyone.
She said he's recovered. Same difference.
I've seen Jenny McCarthy talking on both Oprah and Larry King (and only watched because I have two sons with autism, so was curious) and while she may not have used the word cure (but I believe she has), she most certainly implied it. I feel for her being in a similar position but I don't agree with most of what I've heard her say.
18455 points
Disagree with her response. Look at how books explode off the shelf when she puts in on her O list. The general public looks up to Oprah and anything she says a lot will consider it the gospel.
if the "general public" is stupid enough to consider what she says gospel, then they deserve what they get.
although i'm tempted to agree with the general sentiment of you comment, the real issue is that when it comes to the anti-vax/ autism link, it effects more than just the idiotic "general public" following the "mighty o".
children who are unvaccinated who catch what they otherwise would not go on to infect 1) children who are too young to receive the vaccination, and 2) children in low-income households whose parents were unable to afford vaccinations.
the endorsement* of misinformation and passing new age bs as valid science and anicdotal evidence offered as "proof" promotes a culture of old wives' tales and psuedo science, and demonizes ACTUAL science and medicine- lumping it all as some sort of conspiracy theory.
how can this be a good thing?!?
*whether or not a short "disclaimer" is shown at the beginning of the show, oprah's endorsement of these "miracle cures" and psuedo-science bs is apparent through the actual show.
You are missing the point...Oprah is not endorsing, she is informing. Huge difference. You and others here are basically saying that the public isn;t smart enough to choose for themselves and that's where you lose me. Sorry, but it's really consescending actually. Grow brains, people.
You're the one who needs to grow a brain honey. The point went right over your tiny little pinhead.
No, not really....I think Anon at 12:27 is right...SHe/he didn't have to be b!tchy about it, but still...
I agree with you 100%.
If people are irresponsible enough to get their medical advice from oprah,any consequences is their problem. If they are so impressionable, they prolly would have followed advice they found online or from a friend.
Why should people only look to only standard medicine? There is nothing wrong with seeking other alternatives. I love her shows and people should make their own decision to what may work for them. There is nothing wrong with that.
Yea, what you said!
I have to comment on this:
Oprah had a dermatologist on a while ago that touted the magical effects of Thermage and IPL lasers. So when I saw this two years ago I decided to check it out and ended up getting an IPL that was supposed to just take off a few sunspots. After the procedure I went home and could not sleep because of the burning that continued for weeks. To make a very long story shorter.....what happened to me was that the IPL was set too high, went down to my subcutaneous fat layer and killed all my fat cells. My face literally caved in, collapsed. I have had 5 fat grafting surgeries to rebuild the soft tissue in my face and spent over $30,000 of my own money trying to get back my face and life.
Oh my gosh, I am so sorry about what you went through. That is truly horrible. Oprah Winfrey is a minimally-educated woman, spouting her 'gospel' to viewers. This is a very real example of what can happen - CMarie obviously trusted Oprah's expertise in this area, and clearly, Oprah didn't have a clue what she was talking about.
I feel really bad for you but what does this have to do with the story??? You heard about IPL, you checked it out, signed up with a bad doctor, and had horrific results. That's the doctor's fault (sue him) or partly yours for not having researched the doctor fully. But it was your choice, not Oprah's fault.
^agreed
The fact that we all should remember is that the Oprah Winfrey show is a "talk" show...not a medical show...not even a news program. I can not fathom that people would actually take medical advice from a woman that professes that $100 dollar t-shirts are "affordable"! Granted I live in Canada where we have nationalized medicine and theorectically have complete access to healthcare (albeit after a minimum wait time of up to 1 year for an MRI), but it seems silly to me that people who would have medical coverage would rather get their medical advice from a women who is putting on a program primarily for ratings rather than a doctor.
As to Jenny McCarthy, she HAS repeatedly stated that she has "cured" her son of autism through the use of diet, vitamins and therapies. My question is if a Playboy playmate can "cure" autism with vitamins, what the heck are all the doctors who work in the autism field doing wrong!?!?!?
Same thing with Halle Berry when she was on there. She was on there spouting s**t that she cured her type 1 diabetes. You can't cure type 1. My son is type 1 and it is an auto immune disease not a disease that is controlled with diet and exercise as Halle was spouting off. I don't blame Oprah for all the idiots that make stupid comments to me about it. If people think that anything is gospel because they saw it on Oprah or because Halle or Jenny said it, then they are completely ignorant and stupid.
I still watch and love Oprah. I have learned alot on the Dr. Oz shows but I am not stupid enough to just do what he says. I see my own doctor about it first.
She never said she was "cured", she said she brought it under control through diet and exercise, which is more than plausible. I know a lot people to have done the same thing.
You cannot control type 1 with diet and exercise. If you have type 1 your body no longer produces insulin and you have to inject yourself with it, or wear an insulin pump. Only type 2 can be controlled through diet and exercise, because if you have type 2 your body is still producing insulin.
If she truly controlled her diabetes through diet and exercise she has type 2, not type 1.
YOu're right...I should have realized that distinction.
this is not true -- traditionally, the medical field has held this opinion, however recent studies have shown that type 1 diabetes can be managed with a raw food diet, have you seen the documentary Raw for 30 days? a type 1 diabetic was able to completely abstain from insulin injections by switching to a diet solely comprised of nuts, seeds, raw fruits and vegetables. the proof is in the pudding :)
I admire Oprah greatly. I believe some of the topics covered on her show get people to open their minds to other ways of thinking. Suzanne Sommers, Jenny McCarthy and Dr Christiane Northrup are just letting people know that there are other alternatives than conventional medical treatment that has helped them and possibly others. I work in a nutritional field and I can tell you a lot of people are fed up with these medications that have horrible side effects or just do not work at all. Also did you know Medical Doctors are the third largest cause of death in the U.S. after heart disease and cancer? Thats right 250,000 deaths per year...Also aspirin kills about 20,000 people per year. How come no one will talk about that?
miss "KNOBLE POT" is speaking, folks?
Say what?
Doctors makes mistakes too you know....you can't just rely on her doctor for everything.
I mean 'your' doctor.
5810 points
People who watch Oprah are going to take to heart what she has on her program. She needs to face the reality that when she has someone on her show, she's pretty much selling their product/opinion. Every person is hopeful for a cure for something, so when they see something that has a possiblity of working, of course they'll try it! What does she expect when she shows this stuff???
She expects people to be smart enough to listen, weigh their options , and decide for themselves if it's right for them.
Maybe so, but as the saying goes "common sense isn't common anymore". Unfortunately, it's obviously people aren't looking into these topics themselves and that's something she needs to address when she does health and wellness shows.
Sorry, I disagree but respect your position.
18455 points
I cannot help but remember the blow up she had with that author who wrote a million little pieces. She felt he misrepresented himself. So if she is going to go off the deep end over a novel, something that isnt going to affect someones health, then she should be more careful about having "experts" on her show spouting their advice. If someone appears on Oprah as a guest/speaker then it seems she is agreeing with what they are "selling". The public then figure if its good enough for Oprah its good enough for me. Im not saying everyone thinks that way but a good portion who follow her would. Anyone who has appeared on Oprah has said how much their sales increase after the show. If that wasnt the case why would "stars" have so many endorsements or be given free items to be photographed with - the public wants to use/buy what famous people have. Case and point - every picture on this website now has a BUY now feature so people can get what the stars are wearing.
If someone appears on Oprah as a guest/speaker then it seems she is agreeing with what they are "selling". That is absolutely ridiculous!! Think before you comment.
10715 points
A few years ago I saw a segment on Entertainment Tonight, where women all across the USA were paying huge amounts of money to hear Oprah speak in their towns. This was her be the best you tour. If her cash rich audience is buying into her speaking tour then they are stupid enough to follow some really bad advice from her 'experts' without doing some basic and necessary research first.
How stupid.... DOCTOR Christiane Northrup is spreading misinformation? Yeah - the woman practically wrote the bible on women's health and she's not to be trusted? Oprah empowers women to take control of their own health; to educate themselves on it and take action, not to idly sit by and take whatever the doctor says as gospel. That will mean different things for different people - which is a GOOD thing.
Jenny McCarthy is a very dangerous person. Vaccinations SAVE lives! I make sure my kids are all up to date. And another thing-- let them get dirty, don't put them in a bubble, if something falls on the floor 5 second rule applies IT BUILDS THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM.
People use your BRAINS!!!
WHY WOULD ANYONE LISTEN TO THIS FAT PIG?? SHE TELLS YOU HOW TO LOOSE WEIGHT AND THEN GAINS 5 PDS. OVERNIGHT?? SHE IS A FAT SLOB WHO MADE MILLIONS BECAUSE MOST OF AMERICA ARE MORONS WHO LISTEN TO OTHERS INSTEAD OF DOING THINGS FOR THEMSELVES!! THE ONLY THING OPRAH KNOWS IS DONUTS AND HOW TO FIT 55 BIG MACS IN HER FAT MOUTH AT THE SAME TIME!!!
You need some professional help with your anger problem...
It is a little naive to think that the majority of the population are knowledgeable enough to not let Oprah influence their decisions about health and medicine. Most people are misinformed and have little knowledge about current research in fields such as Autism. People ARE influenced by what they see on T.V. Someone such as Oprah should consider the reliability of what her guests are spouting. Its all fair and well giving people a different perspective but whats the benefit of perpetuating myths? I don't particularly watch much of Oprah but I do hope she tries to give a balanced point of view on important issues such as health.
Jenny just wants someone (else) to blame for her son's autism.
These ladies have been on other shows talking about their information, not just on Oprah.
Unfortunately there are far too many woman who do believe that if Oprah features it on her show, what ever "IT" happens to be, they blindly follow along. Sadly I have many colleagues, who are all college educated women, and hang on her every word, and by association; on the word of those whom Oprah schedules as guests.
Many people are looking for the simple, quick cure and don't bother to do the legwork to find out the downside simply because...it was on Oprah. So to those of you who are offended by this article, consider yourselves lucky that you're smarter than the average Oprah follower.
oh please - thank you but I'm not that stupid. although viewers in America might be...
Oprah should take some responsibility for who she puts on her show and what they are putting out there in the public sphere. Clearly not everyone is smart enough to look into things further and talk to a doctor before doing anything drastic.
### the oprah show is an INFOMERCIAL. everything everything everything there is a commercial for some kind of shit. It is no accident that oprah has 5 mansions, one of which is a striking resemblance to the white house.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT OPRAH REALLY CARES ABOUT<
IT IS MONEY. PERIOD>
1800 points
BIG HEAD.
5655 points
Not the bst pic of Oprah, Vera! I hated that outfit on her and the color did nothing to her complexion.
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