America, you are not grateful enough to have Oprah Winfrey in this world and it is giving her a big sad.
As you know, in the aftermath of the recent Maui wildfires, Winfrey and fellow richer-than-Midas celebrity Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson announced that they were starting a fund to help the survivors of the fire and asked us all to dig deep to donate to their fund. The reaction to this announcement didn't quite go as planned.
This morning, Winfrey took to the set of CBS Mornings to tell her pal Gayle King that she wasn't mad at us. Just disappointed.
NEW: Oprah says she was really sad after the backlash she faced after donating $10M to Maui fire victims with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 15, 2023
“It made me sad that we are at this state in our country.”
Oprah, who is worth $2.8B, said she was just trying to be like Dolly Parton.
“So,… pic.twitter.com/kc9pMJedCx
On the surface, she might seem to have a point. After all, why wouldn't we want to support her and The Rock in this effort? Except reality doesn't really match up with the rosy, altruistic picture Winfrey is painting of herself here.
For starters, there is the fact that Winfrey's and Johnson's $10 million wasn't actually a donation to Maui residents, it was seed money to start the fund. Maui residents weren't getting that money, only money that people donated on top of the initial $10 million.
But she never mentions how much of the $10M “start off $$” has gone to the Maui Fire victims. From the sounds of things, the answer is $0.00. Instead she’s crying victim of conspiracy theories and online vitriol.
— zeromyhero (@nothng2sumthng) September 15, 2023
Secondly, the $10 million went to the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a 'non-profit' that is somehow loaded with executives and middle management who, while not as rich as Winfrey, have six- and seven-figure salaries. Meanwhile, Maui residents could apply for a payout of $1200. Not as paltry as what FEMA was offering, but not much more than that.
Before anyone is crazy enough to donate, know that the funds that Both Oprah and the Rock wants the everyday Americans to donate to is managed by a “nonprofit” company called the Entertainment Industry Foundation. There are 13 executives that get paid over $3 million and… pic.twitter.com/HeZxybJsM6
— ꪻꫝể ꪻꫝể (@TheThe1776) September 1, 2023
And third, Winfrey and Johnson between them have a net worth of over $3 billion, yet instead of donating directly to residents themselves -- or asking their equally wealthy celebrity friends to make direct donations -- they wanted the money to come from Americans who are struggling under Bidenomics to pay for food, housing, and gas.
Never mind all of that. It's our fault, America. We just don't appreciate her enough.
I’ll tell you what happened Oprah, you weren’t at one of your $5000 a plate benefits asking your rich friends. You were asking hard working Americans pissed at their government for sending their tax money to other countries 🙄 pic.twitter.com/XgxsClrPBp
— @stevenvoiceover (@stevenvoiceover) September 15, 2023
Whom amongst us has not attended a benefit where someone donates $10 million. We all know what that’s like
— Michael Bergeron (@MdBergeron) September 15, 2023
Yes, it doesn't get much more out of touch than comparing your request for donations from the hoi polloi to a celebrity fundraiser.
The comparison below makes a lot more sense to most people:
— Beer Drinking Army Vet (@thomas_garrard) September 15, 2023
Oprah is a member of the Maui community, she could have helped everyone there with her own $, instead she chose to make it about herself and virtue signal.
— Savannah (@BasedSavannah) September 15, 2023
Not that it is Winfrey or Johnson's obligation to fund everything themselves, but don't let the seed money amount fool you. Even if Winfrey and Johnson's $10 million did go to Maui residents, that is 0.33% of their combined net worth. By comparison, that would be the equivalent of someone who has saved up $65,000 or so in their life -- the average savings of Americans -- donating about $216. In other words, a drop in the bucket.
Perhaps the best thing here is to not say “I feel so sad at what you’ve become” but to do a little introspection and find out why people feel the way they do. https://t.co/ftQF9PMGtk
— Elaine (@elbh) September 15, 2023
Maybe the take away here @Oprah and @TheRock is that people don’t trust you anymore. Why could that be? And why so polarized? Is it possible you had a hand in that? Some self reflection is in order here. And yes, this also makes me sad. Seems like it was a good idea. https://t.co/ArWsNSU85C
— WhatsTheDifference (@TheDudeApollo) September 15, 2023
No, we can't have that. Asking many celebrities to do a little self-reflecting is like asking a shark to walk on land. It wouldn't even occur to them to try.
Others were put off by Winfrey comparing herself to Dolly Parton.
Oprah is so out of touch. Dolly Parton? Really? https://t.co/qYZjKdJ1zf
— Juanita Broaddrick (@atensnut) September 15, 2023
Dolly Parton built a huge business (Dollywood) in her small rural hometown to help the people there. She gave them jobs so they could feed their families on a continuing basis. You’re not Dolly.
— Heidi A Hill (@HeidiAHill1) September 15, 2023
Dolly actually paid everyone monthly out her pocket until insurance and stuff came in for everyone. BIG difference! https://t.co/oBP8KUuYlL
— Dan Johnson (@linuxdr) September 15, 2023
Technically, Parton did hold a telethon for the victims of the 2016 fires in North Carolina and Tennessee, but the money donated from that was in addition to the $1,000 per month that Parton donated through her companies directly to the victims. So yes, there are some big differences. Again, there is no evidence that Winfrey and Johnson's $10 million is going to the victims at all.
Finally, Winfrey's comment about 'the state of the country' rang hollow with many people.
These leftist liberal elites don't have a clue about the American people! We DON'T TRUST you! I wouldn't give you $1! I would give Dolly Thousands because she will do the right thing! Knowing you, YOU would give it to harvey, for his defense fund! You CAN'T trust Hollywierd!
— Dave, NOT In CA anymore! (@aRealCArepub) September 15, 2023
We're not getting into the whole Harvey Weinstein thing here, but the important point is that no one trusts celebrities anymore. And they have only themselves to blame for that.
Put more simply:
I think a lot of people are tired of elitists talking down on them.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 15, 2023
Yup. Look, we don't know about Winfrey's intentions, they very well may have been noble. But yeah, we're fed up with people who do not live like us telling us how we are supposed to live. And scolding us when we don't measure up to their expectations.
Maybe because those expectations are always of us and never of themselves. We swear there's a word for that ...
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