My beef with one of the world's richest ladies...

Okay, so I admitted it. I don't like Oprah. I used to watch her from time to time (only with my wife or mother, of course!) and liked the entertaining guests she would get on her show. However, this has changed. And never since I made the decision have I watched her show. Two events are responsible for this change, and here I will explain said events. My apologies if they're not chronologically accurate....



Event #1:
A number of people may remember the situation relating to James Frey. He wrote the memoir A Million Little Pieces and another book named My Friend Leonard. Both books received rave reviews, and when A Million Little Pieces came out, Oprah featured him on his show. She raved openly about how realistic and touching and moving his book was. She celebrated his honesty and put the book on her book club list (I'll get to this soon). It sold millions of copies and made him an instant celebrity.

One problem came of this: his book wasn't entirely accurate. He tried to get it published as fiction (since he made some of it up), but no publishers would take it. So, he changed the genre of the book to a "memoir" (ambiguous, no doubt) and ended up getting it published, which soon after launched him into the limelight. An even bigger problem? Oprah found out that it wasn't 100% true.

So Oprah decided to bring him back on the show and proceeded to slag him for being a liar, for betraying the public and making a fool out of her. She then went on to quote parts of the book, asking him how he could possibly think people would believe him (since it was obviously fabricated)! THE NERVE! SHE BELIEVED HIM! Not only that, but she didn't even read the whole book and made him a celebrity based on the words of her producers. She said she felt "betrayed", but it was her own damn fault for not going through the whole book herself! And she did her best to see that he would become a disgrace, embarassing him in front of millions.

Luckily for him, the controversy didn't make his next publication less popular (it may have made him more popular), and he's sold millions of copies of My Friend Leonard and still more copies of A Million Little Pieces. Good for you, James. Boo to you, Oprah... jerk!

Event #2:
First off, I do believe that Oprah has helped a number of really solid books sell well by putting her name behind it. But she's ARROGANT about it. Case in point: Faulkner.

For those of you who've read William Faulkner, you likely know that he's an American literary giant, and his books are classics. They're taught in schools and Universities throughout North America as American classics. However, Oprah seemed to think that she was the first American to read Faulkner in her spare time (FYI: I read The Sound and the Fury two years before he appeared on her book list). She actually said to a guest, "I'm so impressed! You read Faulkner before it was even on my book club list!"

Her and Martha Stewart are probably good buddies. If you don't know how good Oprah is, just ask Oprah. She'll tell you.

Sure, it sounds as if I'm bitter about things that I shouldn't be bitter about. Maybe some people think I'm over-reacting. But every time I turn on her show, it seems like she's gloating about how wonderful she is. And I can't stand it. Millions of people have read books from your book club BEFORE you read them. Good for you for promoting reading, but you don't need to be an ass about it because you're popular and rich. Hmmm... why don't I put a book on my list like Anna Karenina and trick myself into blieving that I'm the reason why Tolstoy is popular. Sure thing boss.

Okay, that's enough for tonight. I'm working on the west side of town tomorrow and need my beauty rest... I'll turn into a pumpkin any minute. Again, my apologies if I hurt the feelings of any Oprah fans. It just had to be said. G'night.

T