Oprah Winfrey has spoken about being publicly body-shamed by Joan Rivers, who made her weight topic number one during her first appearance on The Tonight Show in 1985.
During Monday’s episode of the Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast, the media mogul recalled how, despite being invited to talk about her then-booming TV show, A.M. Chicago, Joan instead focussed on her appearance.
“Joan Rivers turns to me and she says, ‘Tell me, why are you so fat?’” Oprah recalled to the podcast’s host.
She admitted she was so stunned by having her weight called out “on national television” that she didn’t know “what to do with that”.
“I just [said], like, ‘Oh, I just love potato chips, Joan,’” Oprah shared, which prompted the late comedian to fire back: “Shame on you.”
Joan, who died in 2014, then told her guest: “I’ll let you come back if you lose 15lbs. You need to lose 15lbs.”
Oprah admitted she had sided with Joan at the time of the interview, adding: “I accept[ed] that I should be shamed, because how dare me, be sitting up here on The Tonight Show.”
After vowing to the late Fashion Police host that she would shed the weight, she revealed that she never actually did.
“Of course, I didn’t lose the 15lbs. I went and ate my way to another 10lbs,” she remarked.
At the time, Oprah’s encounter with Joan on the Tonight Show led her to enrol in a “health retreat” to slim down, she said. “At the time, they called them ‘fat farms’,” she noted.
Oprah then recalled how around the same time, she “cried” and “prayed” because she thought her size had made her miss out on a role in the critically acclaimed The Color Purple.
That was until the film’s director, Steven Spielberg, surprised her with a phone call.
After hearing that she was trying to lose weight, Oprah claimed to Jamie Kern Lima, the filmmaker told her: “You lose a pound, you could lose this part.”
Oprah went on to star in the film and earn an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sofia. The moment became her “greatest life lesson,” she said.
“That became my grounding teaching for the rest of my life and career,” Oprah said. “Do everything you can, work as hard as you can, and then let it go.”
The former Oprah Winfrey Show host has been vocal about the discrimination she has faced due to her weight over the years.
In December, she confirmed that she’s taking a weight loss drug, but didn’t name which one. Her admission came amid the controversial celebrity trend of taking drugs like Ozempic or Mounjaro as off-label weight loss drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration has not approved Ozempic for weight loss.
In May, Oprah apologised for actions she said made her a “major contributor” to toxic diet culture.
Slamming her infamous “wagon of fat” moment on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the late ’80s as one of her biggest regrets, she added: “It sent a message that starving yourself with a liquid diet set a standard for people watching that I nor anybody else could uphold.”
Help and support:
- Beat, Adult Helpline: 0808 801 0677 and Youthline: 0808 801 0711 or email help@beateatingdisorders.org.uk (adults) fyp@beateatingdisorders.org.uk (youth support)
- Samaritans, open 24 hours a day, on 116 123
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393