Midnight Meadows skit
Winfrey joins Fallon for a 80’s soap opera skit called Midnight Meadows were the two use vocal effects on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Oprah interview
Sam gives an interview to Oprah and claims other gay players in the NFL have reached out to him.
Very few reached out to me and pretty much just told me their gratitude and how thankful they were that I had the courage (to come out publicly). They wished that they had the courage to come out.
Closes Harpo Studios
Winfrey is closing Harpo Sudios in Chicago. All company business is transitioning into the OWN headquarters in Los Angeles.
[Chicago has] been everything for me. I’ve spent more hours in this building than I have any other building on Earth. … We were here when there was nothing but hoes and rats on the street, and now it’s one of the hottest neighborhoods [in Chicago]. The time had come to downsize this part of the business and to move forward. It will be sad to say goodbye, but I look ahead with such a knowing that what the future holds is even more than I can see.
You Will anthem released
OWN adopts You Will as its network anthem. The song was composed by Warren and is sung by Hudson and Nettles in their first-ever duet. RCA Records released the single. The song will premiere during the season finale of The Haves and the Have Nots. Oprah:
I was so touched when Diane Warren came to me and said she wrote a song with OWN in mind. And then to have Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Nettles bring the song to life with their stunning collaboration…what a gift.
Warren:
The sentiment of my song is that you should never give up on your dreams, own every breath, own every minute, go live a life that’s got no limits. You can do anything. It’s as simple as never think you won’t, and you will.
Invests $43.2m in Weight Watchers
Winfrey pays $43.2m for 10% stake in Weight Watchers, and joins the company’s board. She also buys options to acquire an additional 5% of fully diluted shares. She also gives the company the right to use her name, image, likeness and endorsement for the company, its programs, products and services, subject to her approval.
Weight Watchers has given me the tools to begin to make the lasting shift that I and so many of us who are struggling with weight have longed for. I believe in the program so much I decided to invest in the company and partner in its evolution.
Talks about relationship breakdown
Mitchell claims that he was so close to Winfrey she asked his mother to adopt him. Mitchell’s mother:
It felt strange because I felt if someone wanted to help me with my children, that’s one thing. But to actually adopt one child knowing I have others? I couldn’t allow her to separate my children.
He claims that after treating him like a son for five years, Winfrey gave up on him after he left The Piney Woods School, a prestigious Christian-based boarding school, that she had paid his tuition for.
She told me, ‘Calvin, just try to work it out. You can do it. Just hang in there.’ She was trying to inspire me to do what was right. But even after the long pep talk she gave me, I still left…I was young. I made a dumb decision, and Oprah wouldn’t forgive me. I feel like what she did was wrong. By leaving school, I’d failed my whole family. I want to ask Oprah, ‘Why did you leave me? Why did you leave me?’ But I thought Oprah and Stedman would still be a part of my life. At one point, it was like I’d lost my whole world.
Defends Kardashians
In a radio interview in Australia, Winfrey defends the Kardashians:
I interviewed the Kardashians two years ago and I can’t believe how hard they work. People don’t understand that, people think, Oh, if a television camera’s just following you, then that’s just easy. To really create a reality series that looks like something’s actually happening, it means you have to be on all the time. I went to film them as a family and I couldn’t believe how hard they worked. We were there for seven hours and they were gonna tape another seven hours after I left. No matter who you are, that is work.
Joins Weight Watchers
In a new advertisement for Weight Watchers, Winfrey says:
Inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be. Many times you’ll look in the mirror, and you won’t even recognize your own self because you got lost, buried in the weight that you carry.
