Oprah Winfrey‘s response to the backlash she received for the Maui disaster fund she started with Dwayne Johnson is serving to only fuel the flames of further criticism, like a PR trainwreck unfolding in slow motion.
During a recent interview with CBS Mornings, she was given the opportunity to respond to the backlash spurred by the creation and launch of the People’s Fund of Maui, a wildfire relief fund she created with Johnson, with the two of them initially funding it with $10 million. The announcement video for the fund was criticized by folks online for appearing to ask everyday people for money to contribute to it, despite being created by two absurdly wealthy people, with Winfrey, in particular, being a billionaire.
Winfrey, who was promoting a new book with co-author Arthur C. Brooks called Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier, described the backlash as a lesson in “Being happier in the midst of an onslaught of being terrorized and vilified online.” She went on to explain she believed the “lies, conspiracy theories really took the focus off of what was the most important thing, and that was the people of Maui.”
Rather than this response being praised, it only further cemented people’s stance on Winfrey’s lack of insight on the matter. One user on X (formerly Twitter) called the media mogul’s remarks “playing the victim while trying to sell her book.”
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For one commentator, this was merely a case of Winfrey giving a “tone-deaf” response and people calling her out.
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Baseless conspiracy theories about Winfrey have popped up amidst the backlash. However, that is far from the most common denominator of the criticisms. On a basic level, people found the response, specifically the video Johnson posted on his TikTok page asking the general public to donate to their fund, to be a case of not reading the room correctly, given how wealthy they both are. The sentiment was exemplified in a meme on Reddit.
Another user on TikTok, @sucoo__, called Winfrey out for other instances of seemingly being out of touch with common people. Namely, “We are broke!” was the response the user gave to the question of why Americans are unhappy, something Winfrey was asked about in a recent interview but gave an entirely different response: envy.
The TikTok user’s video hilariously hit the nail on the head about the main thrust of the criticism toward Winfrey, and Johnson for that matter, which is that their immense wealth makes it much harder for them to come across as genuine when compared to the plight of everyday people. However, the claim in @sucoo__’s video that Winfrey refused to open up private roads in order to save lives in Maui has not been substantiated. The user made a follow-up video clarifying this is not a confirmed fact, but an allegation. In fact, Winfrey’s own response to some conspiracy theories about her that have circulated online directly contradicts the notion that she was taking measures to restrict others from accessing her land during the emergency.
While it is true that Winfrey owns over 2,000 acres of land in Maui, where she has been a part-time resident for over a decade, a number of other claims that spread online have no evidence to back them up. Specifically, a spokesperson for Winfrey told Newsweek the following allegations that were spread in a viral TikTok video were all false: that Winfrey hired private firefighters before the fires spread, that she put a private security team in place so people displaced by the fires couldn’t seek shelter at her property, and that she had purchased the land for “pennies on the dollar.”
With that said, it has also been substantiated that Winfrey attempted to visit an emergency shelter and War Memorial Complex in Wailuku, but was initially turned down apparently due to having a CBS News crew in tow at the time. Newsweek reported that since the shelter had a “no-media policy” they had to turn her away but let her in by herself later on, with the camera crew forced to wait outside, last month.
The County of Maui praised Winfrey on Facebook for the visit inside the shelter, calling it “truly heartwarming.” However, the backlash Winfrey received for attempting to escort a camera crew into the shelter at first is just another example of how this is continuing to be a PR nightmare for her. Basically, this is the Gal Gadot “Imagine” song on steroids.