oprah

it is confession time. for many years i have had a thing about oprah winfrey. i have liked fat oprah, i have liked thin oprah and i have liked all the oprahs in-between.
oprah is blessed with a great smile, a sensual voice; she is sexy, powerful, intelligent and phenomenally wealthy. i mean what isn’t there to like?
why have i waited so long to confess this attraction to oprah? well after the trauma she must have faced from tom cruise’s outburst i thought i would spare her the need to get organise a restraining order. (see i do care about people).

but i am not here to lech over oprah; i am here to give her a little love, a heap of praise and a ton of respect.

oprah is one of the most successful chat show hosts ever, she is a successful magazine publisher, a major philanthropist, a moving force behind getting many americans reading, an oscar nominated actress. for some she is the most influential woman in the world.

just recently she has opened the oprah winfrey leadership academy for girls in south africa. the first 152 students have been admitted it is eventually hoped to have 450 students at the school. the aim of the school is simple to teach the girls to be the best that they can be in the fields that they choose (and i confess to a wry chuckle that amongst the computer and science labs, the theatre and library, the gym and sports fields there is a beauty salon). for this to occur oprah has already spent $40 million of her own money and with more to be spent.
(it was pointed out in an interview with gavin esler on the bbc’s newsnight that her contribution to the school is equal to the aid spending of the usa for the entire african continent.)
the girls who go through the school (who have been chosen on academic ability and the fact they are poor) are expected to become the future leaders of south africa, whether at a national or a local level.
it is a noble idea and as oprah herself says it is a demonstration of what one person can do, and she pointed out if this is what she can do what can others who have more resources than her and what could institutions achieve? her call for a return to the philanthropy of the great and the good rather than a clarion call to the governments of the world is the only sour note in all of this.

when you compare this to what madonna has done, it is easy to see the wide gulf that separates the ideals and goals of some people. madonna’s adoption smacks of a publicity stunt that will benefit one boy and her career. oprah has created what has the potential to truly change the life of many.
i must add here that while i am slagging off madonna, oprah praised madonna’s act of adoption saying that it took great courage and that people who criticise should be aware of the fact that there are still many many children dying in africa.

it is at times like these that the power of celebrity is a thing of good. not just because oprah has stumped up so much money, because through her eloquent and powerful commentary on the situation more people will become aware of the problems and more people will act, on that basis alone i suppose i should cut bono some slack.

as oprah pointed out in one of her interviews about the opening of the school “to whom much is given, much is expected”. this week oprah has delivered in grand style. she deserves our praise.

all that and a fine booty, oprah what a woman!