The “O” effect

I never realised how much of an influence Oprah had on me until I noticed her weight gain.

As a kid, I was always impressed by her because she was the first Black Lady of TV and was successful – something I wanted to be. She covered human interest stories with her chat show which I could relate to. Then as I got into my late teens, I noticed that her programme content shifted to wealthy homemakers and her audience were primarily Chanel and Gucci wearing, highly coiffured white women. That saddened me.

I can’t remember where I heard it from, but many people were saying that ‘Oprah weren’t catering for blacks no more.’ And that’s here in the UK. I have no idea what people were saying in her home country. And because I listened, Oprah and I parted ways.

I started to pay attention to Oprah again about 5 years ago when I was reading something about the world’s greatest achievers and the First Black Lady was all over the place. I can’t remember what it was maybe it was was something about her life story or one her quotes that I came across resonated with me. And the fact her birthday is a few days before mine own got me to sit up straight. I started to dig around and get more information about Oprah – who she is, what she stands for, what she does. The UK weren’t broadcasting her show on a regular basis so I started to buy her magazine again.

It may be that I’m now the woman that Oprah is talking to, I’m so taken in by her wisdom, intellect and character. When I was in the US back in February, they were broadcasting Oprah and Gayle’s Roadtrip across the US. I kinda watched it with a little interest as I was also surfing the net at the time. But when it was broadcast here in the UK in October, Sista Oprah caught my attention.

I can’t remember which town Oprah had stopped off at, but with her very cute trainer and Gayle, they went to the local gym to work out. Now Oprah had the tiniest waist that I’ve ever seen on a Black woman with hips, butt and chest! I was so impressed! And she advocated Pilates. Ok cool, that’s what I’m gonna do (although I haven’t done it yet!). I want to tone up and be healthy. If I lose some pounds or kilos in the process then that’s a bonus.

Then in December when Oprah came out to endorse Obama, I was thinking – wow what happened? In the UK we’re several months behind in the screening of US programmes. And it’s not aired sequentially, so right now I’m watching the show with Bill Cosby as a guest which was aired in October and then last week, programmes from Spring were being shown.

Speaking with my Mom about it, I was saying that all that junk food that Oprah hadn’t eaten in ages but did on the Road trip undid the great work. I love junk food too and realise that Oprah is only human.

And this is why you must do your research before opening your mouth. Oprah has a thyroid problem. I don’t now if it’s curable, but I really hope that she can manage it and her health because it’s the one thing she needs to continue her great work.

Now I’m not disappointed, demotivated but empowered that I have the knowledge to try and avoid the problem myself and keep healthy. The ‘O’ effect will last for as long as her name is kept alive. And I’m still encouraged that as one of my mentors, she’s still an amazing person. The fact that she’s a woman and African American is just a side issue, although very important.