Oprah Winfrey hits 246 pounds, claims Enquirer

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The National Enquirer has a cover story this week claiming that the ubiquitous talk show host weighs 246 pounds. There’s some debate over whether that number is accurate and whether the Enquirer Photoshopped Oprah to look fatter on the cover, but you can see that she’s gained weight recently.

Their back story has her eating fried food while on the road with Obama and drowning her sorrows in carbs after Stedman broke up with her. Stedman supposedly told Oprah that he’s never really loved her and has always thought of her as a friend. That’s probably all made up, but we’re not above printing it:

“Oprah and Stedman had a late night heart-to-heart talk a few months ago and Stedman admitted that their long romance has been a sham,” said a longtime friend.

“The could had been in counseling, and during one of the sessions Oprah admitted that she was falling out of love with Stedman. But she wanted to give it another chance – so Stedman hung in there.”

“But in the end, it was Stedman who made a heartbreaking confession: He never really loved her.

“Stedman kept hoping their friendship would turn to love, but it never did.”

Stedman told Oprah that if they had really been in love, they would have gotten married years ago, continued the friend.

“There were tears and a lot of hurt, but in the end, they both knew that admitting the truth is better than living a lie…”

Oprah, 54, has tried to keep her mind off Stedman by working and supporting the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama. But while she’s been out on the road with Obama, she regularly eats greasy fast foods and deep-friend meals, an insider revealed – and she gained 26 pounds in two months.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, March 31, 2008]

Oprah is also said to mindlessly snack a lot while she’s working and they say she plans to get in shape again after the election.

I don’t really like Oprah and think she’s full of shit most of the time, but whether she gains weight or not I don’t really care. People want to point at her for what’s perceived as a personal problem because she’s self-important and richer than most of the world combined, and that’s totally understandable.

Oprah was ranked the 562nd richest person in the world on Forbes Magazine’s rich list in 2006 and was said to be worth $1.4 billion at that time. She does charity but she largely contributes in Africa, and while that’s admirable and all she also dissed American kids by saying that they didn’t want nice schools and would rather have iPods and status symbol clothing. First of all, who is she to talk about someone wanting expensive things when she glorifies consumption with those “favorite things” episodes? Also, when she founded that girls’ school and specified the details down to the color of the building she sounded more like she wanted to create little mini-Oprahs rather than help young girls in Africa. At least she’s doing charity and people are benefiting.

Here’s a funny clip from the first episode of Louis Black’s new show on Comedy Central, “The Root of All Evil,” in which comedians debate topics over who is more evil with Louis Black presiding. In this case it was Oprah vs. The Catholic Church. Comedian Paul F Thomkins went to an inner city school and asked kids if they would rather have a new iPod or a new school. One girl’s reaction when she learned that Oprah dissed American kids is priceless.

If you would like to watch the whole first episode of Lewis Black’s “Root of All Evil: Oprah vs. The Catholic Church” I clipped it for my husband and it’s in four parts. It’s funny as anything and also features comedian Greg Giraldo. (I know this is only tangentially related, but Oprah is involved.)

Lewis Black’s “The Root of All Evil: Oprah Vs. Catholic Church” Part 1
Lewis Black’s “The Root of All Evil: Oprah Vs. Catholic Church” Part 2
Lewis Black’s “The Root of All Evil: Oprah Vs. Catholic Church” Part 3
Lewis Black’s “The Root of All Evil: Oprah Vs. Catholic Church” Part 4

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17 Responses to “Oprah Winfrey hits 246 pounds, claims Enquirer”

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  1. xiaoecho says:

    Oprah looks good fat or skinny. She has the sort of features and body shape that can carry weight without it affecting her looks………unlike Lisa Marie.

  2. Megan says:

    Who cares, seriously. I think she’s probably one of those people that’s meant to be fat, and it’s only because of Hollywood pressure that she ever gets thin. She’s probably naturally a big woman.

  3. headache says:

    Who the hell cares?? The woman came from a childhood of poverty and abuse and turned herself into a successful franchise but all that seems to mean shit to some people because she’s overweight.

    I don’t like her personally but I don’t think her weight gain or lose detracts for her success.

  4. xiaoecho says:

    Herman……..there are lower life forms than a potato out there preaching the Gospel

  5. UrbanRube says:

    “First of all, who is she to talk about someone wanting expensive things when she glorifies consumption with those “favorite things” episodes?” Right on, Celebitchy. It’s the ultra version of pinatas at little kids’ parties, the segment of the party where we teach kids about greed. It’s like 9:01 a.m. at the Loehmann’s white sale.

  6. Daisy says:

    NewsFlash
    ********* Oprah puts weight on ********

  7. MaiGirl says:

    Good point about the Favorite Things episode, CB. I hadn’t thought of that particular issue, but did think it unfair for her to criticize, because of course American children become materialistic in a consumerist society that places the most value on people with the most money and possessions.

    Still, I love Oprah. Not unreservedly, but unless and until she kills a puppy, I support her. And no way is she 246. She has gained weight, but not nearly that much.

  8. journey says:

    okay, i am shocked. always thought oprah was a smart, kind-hearted humanitarian. to find out she said that about children– that is so bad. even if a child does prefer “stuff” to a quality education, you don’t throw up your hands and give up on the child. part of educating children is helping them to see what is truly important in life.

  9. snappyfish says:

    They polled kids from chicago inner city schools about the choice of a new school/ipod. Everyone said a new school.

    Headache thanks for making me feel better. I thought I was the only one who didn’t really care for Oprah. she has done wonderful things but I am just a little sick of her.

    She lost me when she had a woman on who was a victim of a severe crime. The woman’s face was shot off by an abusive boyfriend. This woman had endured God only knows how many surgeries to make her look human again. She is telling her story and is interrupted by Oprah time and time again with a “let me tell you what happened to me”..

    Enough.

  10. geronimo says:

    Good point, journey, re taking your money elsewhere because a handful of kids (kids!) supposedly gave the wrong answer. I can’t knock her in terms of her success and business accumen, and she has done a lot of good with her money, but she always seems to want something in return – namely public adulation – to satisfy what seems to be a massive ego.

  11. headache says:

    I don’t fault her for building a school in Africa instead of the united states. Though her answer as to why was asinine at best, the fact is children in the poorest places in American have access to a far better educational system and libraries than the average african child.

    What I do fault her with in the case of this african school is that she has not been the best steward of the money she is donating. I cannot remember the exact math but when the story of the school first came out I divided up the money she laid out by the amount of children who could attend, I believe it is 400, and it turns out Oprah is spending somewhere like $250,000 bucks per kid.

    For that kind of money she could have forgone the yoga classes and beauty salon and given hundreds if not thousands of children including boys an education. Someone how I don’t think a school dedicated to making mini Oprahs was quite what Nelson Mandela had in mind.

    It’s time people gave a shit about Africa but in a real, caring and effective way. Not as a monument to your own “goodness.”

  12. Daisy says:

    She earns her money she can spend it anyway she wants if she wants a school in Africa so be it To me she is hatching a social experiment to hatch mini Oprahs. She does indeed have a very profound effect on the level of materialism and consumerlism that she showcases on her show. Getting happiness by by buying into a luxury good.

  13. ER says:

    She’s struggled with her weight her entire career. While she’s not my favorite celebrity by any stretch, she’s done amazingly well for herself, and I highly doubt anybody cares anymore what she does/doesn’t weigh 🙂

  14. Diana says:

    Ugh. More news stories on Oprah’s weight? Really? Can’t we just get over this? The woman has an addiction, just like millions of other people. She unbelievably successful, she’s intelligent, enormously charitable and a keen businesswoman…yet we’re back to the weight stories. Bleh.

  15. Anonymous says:

    paying for liposuction wouldn’t put a big dent in her bank account, she should have the procedure done.

  16. Genie says:

    too many deep-friend meals 😉

  17. Ray says:

    This is never easy.