Oprah’s Endorsement Don’t?

05Feb08

A couple months ago, Oprah Winfrey chose to publicly endorse Senator Barack Obama.  Good or bad move?  She even campaigned with the presidential candidate in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina during December of 2007. 

Now…surprise surprise! Oprah is catching heat from former fans who support Senator Hillary Clinton.  The problem surfaced when Oprah’s message boards were blasted with comments criticizing the day-time TV queen for picking Obama over Clinton. Oh, the power of Web 2.0.

According to The New York Times, an angry commenter said she, “cannot believe that women all over this country are not up in arms over Oprah’s backing of Obama.  For the first time in history we actually have a shot at putting a woman in the White House and Oprah backs the black MAN. She’s choosing her race over her gender.” 

Some pretty strong words, but does this angry fan have a point? Politics is a touchy subject, and someone as influential as Oprah should expect these kinds of repercussions.  Had she not chosen to privately support Obama she could have avoided this little controversy. 

This is the first time Oprah has endorsed a candidate since she began working in television 2 decades ago.  Clearly, Oprah’s decision was not made on whim, and this incident has shown once again the media mogul is certainly not immortal.  According to the Minnesota Post, when asked if she was nervous about the announcement she said, “You damn right I’m nervous.”

What she probably feared most has now become a reality.  It seems that Oprah has alienated herself from her fans who support Senator Clinton and other candidates.  Oprah is known for her likeability and appeal to ALL women.  Was it a good idea to pick a candidate and ignore her past reputation of always remaining neutral?  Some critics say that Oprah may have hurt herself and Obama by publicly endorsing and getting so involved. 

Oprah’s message boards have become a hot spot for Clinton supporters and people who are anti-Obama and are willing to do whatever it takes to defeat him, even if that means stomping on Oprah in the process. 

A bit of advice from a PR perspective, leave the politics to the politicians and stick to talking about “The Secret” and pomegranate martinis because that’s what will keep Oprah out of trouble.  It’s fine to choose a candidate and support him or her, but when you are someone who is so influential and so closely followed by the public it’s not in your best interest to start picking sides during one of the biggest debates in years. 

Photos provided by Google Images.

Filed under: Celebrities, Television   |  Leave a Comment