Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Oprah Remembers Michael Jackson

That’s exactly right…the title of this post, “Oprah remembers Michael Jackson.”  After months of silence following the sudden demise of Michael Jackson, her majesty Queen Oprah suddenly deemed the time was right to do a show, which smacks of insincerity and hypocrisy,  as a sorta token remembrance of the king of pop. Well, as far as I’m concerned, she should have just maintained that stony silence instead of doing a show which was nothing short of her remembering and reminding the world that Michael Jackson was weird. Yeah, Oprah remembers how she embarrassed MJ by asking him “Are you a virgin?” during her 1993 interview with him. So what if he was or wasn’t? It was an inappropriate question, period.  Would she ask the same question of, say, Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers, huh, huh? She was looking at him through ‘colored’ lenses (no pun intended).

Yeah, Oprah remembers Michael Jackson alright! Her so-called “reflections”  were all about that 1993 interview.  She said that, looking back, she realized in that moment (when MJ talked about his missing childhood) she had a fondness for Michael. Quote: “He’s very likable there, and I can tell you I really, really liked him,” she says. “After this interview, I thought I could be his friend, because I felt that he was really honest.” Yeah, some friend she turned out to be!

Of course, she remembered to point out that “Anybody who knew Michael Jackson will tell you that when you are up close to him—he had absolutely no pigmentation in his skin—you are looking at his veins when you look at his hand. You are seeing through to the blue veins, and they’re very, very apparent. At first that’s a startling thing. Nobody ever talks about that, but it takes you aback at first. You’re looking at a person who is almost translucent.”

She then said that in 1993, nobody knew anything about vitiligo…yeah, nobody knew, but a famous talk-show queen could have and  should have done her homework before the interview and “educate” her audience . Instead, she said that was “one of Michaels’ most defensive moments of the interview.” Wouldn’t you be when it appeared like she didn’t quite believe him?

There was no mention of the humanitarian side of Michael Jackson, his vast contribution to charity or even his brilliant musical career. So why on earth did she do the show? Could it be she wants to “redeem” herself and stay in the good books of her fans, many of whom  are also MJ fans, who have been criticizing her for her prolonged silence on MJ’s death? So she felt “pressured” perhaps,  to put on a show? Well, I could be wrong, but I don’t believe the show saved the day for Queen Oprah because, at a time when she should have spoken, she chose to be silent. At the time when condolences were the order of the day, her majesty tuned out. Why speakest thou now, your majesty? Aah, but it’s all about the ratings, isn’t it?

Finally, I may again be wrong here, but my instinct tells me that BECAUSE of her “Oprah Remembers Michael Jackson”  episode, she would have lost many loyal Oprah fans. Now is certainly NOT the time to speak when the moment has already  passed. “Speak now or forever hold your peace”, aptly applies, in this instance.

As for me, it’s “goodbye Oprah”.  My days of watching the “Oprah Show” are over for good. So it’s back to my little spice garden and potter’s wheel for now.

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