Oprah did a video Q&A with Gayle King and a fan for Oprah Daily, which is the rebranding of O The Oprah Magazine. A woman named Erika Johnson zoomed in with a question about letting unvaccinated people around her baby. Erika said she’s getting pushback from family about insisting they be vaccinated before they see him. Oprah said that not only would she not allow unvaccinated people around the baby, she also makes everyone who travels to visit her, including vaccinated people, quarantine for at least five days. When Gayle mildly questioned her about that, Oprah said it was her house, her rules basically. YES. You can see that video below and here’s some of what they said:
Oprah: I wouldn’t let anybody around my baby who hadn’t been vaccinated or who hadn’t been quarantined for an extensive period of time. Even vaccined people coming to my house still have to quarantine. It’s not 14 days anymore, it’s five, maybe seven to five.
Gayle: Oprah are you still making people quarantine if they’ve been vaccinated?
Oprah: You have to quarantine for at least five days. You’re traveling on the plane, you have been here a couple of days and now can be tested so yes I am doing that.
Gayle: I do think that’s extreme. Dr. Fauci says if you’ve been vaccinated you can be with other people who have been vaccinated.
Oprah: Not if you’re flying on a commercial flight you cannot in my house. This is my house. Dr. Fauci can do whatever Dr. Fauci wants to do. The rest of the world can do whatever they want to do. I’m just talking about my house. Erika, the same thing is true for you.
Gayle: So if I came there and you know that I’ve been vaccinated and I came on a plane, I would have to quarantine for five days?
Oprah: Not if you flew on a private plane?
Gayle: That’s not normally my mode of travel.
Oprah: That’s the rules in this house yes. I have girls coming for spring break they’re going to have to quarantine in the guest house for five days.
[From Oprah Daily]
Oprah is the best. I love how she’s setting the rules and saying other people can set their own boundaries too. Gayle is weighing her options before her next visit. Months ago, before the Delta variant became dominant, Gayle said that her unvaccinated family members were not invited to Thanksgiving. I was hoping enough people would get vaccinated that we would be able to have large gatherings again this year, but because of those unvaccinated dolts that’s not the case. Vaccinated people can spread the virus and get pretty sick when they catch this, although we’re not dying. Oprah is doing what she needs to stay healthy and I admire her for that.
Oprah is not f***ing playing. She said you coming to my house you go right into quarantine after hopping off that plane 😆 pic.twitter.com/yWNDStryge
— chris evans (@chris_notcapn) August 7, 2021
Oprah’s house, Oprah’s rules.
Do you, Oprah.
I invited my parents over to my house for the first time in 18 months and I kept my mask on the whole time. And they didn’t say a peep about it.
Good for her.
Agreed. Your house your rules. We also are not privy to any health issues Oprah may have that make her want to be too strict. Also, with Delta and now Delta Plus variants, Lambda on the way as well, we could be asymptomatic carriers, and the person we give it to may get sick, even vaxxed. So I can’t fault her on wanting to be careful.
It’s her house, her rules, her life, so she can say and do as she pleases. If you don’t like it, then Zoom call. Simples.
I like this rule!
Better to be safe than sorry.
She has the guest house and mcmansion, so she certainly has the means to enforce this!
Yeah… five days of quarantine is a very privileged place to start from. Some people have to work in an office/school/hospital/retail setting/etc.
Oprah’s House, Oprah’s rules… good thing I’m not going to Oprah’s any time soon!
Well, it’s not Disneyland. It’s her private residence. But if you really have to find a way to shit on this, I guess that’s one way.
So there was no way in hell Oprah was going to Obama’s party.
She loves him, but her health is more important.
No way she was going to Obama’s party.
Hey, I am glad to hear someone taking this seriously. Too many people aren’t anymore.
Its bizarre to me that Gayle King calls this ‘extreme’. What’s extreme is not isolating/social distancing and behaving it ways that will infect and kill others. That society has allowed behaving selfishly and dangerously to become so normalised, and behaving thoughtfully to become so vilified is really disturbing to me. And good for Oprah, doing the right thing. Wish we all could take a leaf out of her book…
I am a big fan of unabashedly enforcing your boundaries, ESPECIALLY during a freaking pandemic. I love this, and I love that Oprah is taking it so seriously. To still be taking health and safety seriously is to (horrifyingly) be an outlier now, and I respect Oprah so much for taking a stand when it comes to her own health and safety.
I’ve turned down multiple parties — engagement, baby shower, communion, and a work trip — because I didn’t feel safe doing so. It’s difficult socially, but I’m really proud of myself for doing what I feel is right.
I work with a newborn, so I still live like I am in lockdown. I don’t mind, people are awful.
This is a BABY! Babies cannot be vaccinated. Why would you risk it?
Also that baby is CUTE AF. My god. Screw the people who want to put that wee muffin in harms way.
Erika, I will come over there and tell those people if you don’t want to. Why is this even a question? I’m so confused.
I’m calling babies wee muffins from now on.
That little muffin boy is cute cute cutest. Honestly, knowing that the vaccinated can carry the virus, i am not sure I would let anybody approach that boy vaccinated or not. Becuase how would you know? Can you really trust that people have quarantine seriously? (unless you have a guest house on your property allowing you to emprison friends comin to see you?)
I think only very close family members would see the baby and they better wear double masks on with a very limited time with the baby. Poor baby, social skills will not be his forte.
Best use of privilege yet.
I ain’t mad at her. I haven’t had anyone in my house since this started. Last year there was a drive by graduation for my son, all my girlfriends came ( a ton of my neighbors attended also) and EVERYONE stayed outside. A few months agoI saw my brother for the first time in over a year, he stayed outside and because he’s not vaccinated ( SIGH), we stayed 6 ft apart. I”m not playing.
No way I would let any unvaccinated relatives around my newborn. If they really wan5 to see the baby, they should get vaccinated. Can’t believe they’re even pressuring her to see the baby. They can see the baby over Zoom if they can’t do that. No way. My BIL isn’t vaccinated yet and is full of BS regarding vaccines in general.I told my husband I don’t want him in our house because our 9 yo can’t get vaccinated and I would go off on him if he brings up his anti-vaxx BS.
Why would a mother risk this? I just don’t understand. The baby comes before everyone else’s feelings. How is that even a question?!? The mother has the say over anyone else’s wishes and to think otherwise is just…I don’t even know.
And I also don’t get the controversy about Oprah. Yes, her house, her rules. Why does she even have to defend that? On top of people openly disregarding mask rules and not getting vaccinated, now those of use who are actually following proper protocol and being *safe* are being called into question? The world is really upside down.
I got to practice enforcing vaccinations a few months before COVID hit. I’d twins at the end of 2019. I knew they’d be small, so nope you can’t come over if you don’t have ALL vaccinations current, including TDAP & flu. I fought hard for my babies and I wasn’t about to stop when they came home a vulnerable 4lb10oz💙💙 There’s still some family who live in the same town who haven’t met my 20month olds. I even made a sign on my front door beside the hand sanitizer. I’m fully vaccinated, but my babies can’t be yet. I’m not playing, will likely be canceling big family Christmas for a 3rd year. EF these dumb anti-vaccine idiots. I feel awful for all the parents with school age kids and the idiots that run most our schools!