Oprah says ending show 'feels right'
Reuters
SHUTTING UP SHOP: Oprah Winfrey announcing that she will end her popular TV show in 2011.
Oprah Winfrey has said that she will end her popular TV show in 2011 because it "feels right in her bones" after 25 years, and urged her viewers not to believe rumours of why she's quitting.
"This show has been my life and I love it enough to know when it's time to say goodbye. Twenty-five years feels right in my bones, and it feels right in my spirit. It's the perfect number, the exact right time," Winfrey said during Friday's show at her Chicago studio.
During her long career atop the television talk show heap, her fluctuating weight and personal relationships have become tabloid fodder, and commentators have wondered whether she was tiring of the grind – only to see her slim down and revive her show's popularity.
"Over the next couple of days you may hear a lot of speculation in the press about why I am making this decision now, and that will mostly be conjecture," she said.
Winfrey choked up once and wiped away a tear during her 3½-minute announcement closing the hour-long live show, and her predominantly female audience gave her a standing ovation and then hugs when she stepped into the crowd.
Winfrey did not divulge her ultimate plans when the show ends in September 2011, but industry watchers say she may move to cable network OWN, or the Oprah Winfrey Network, a Los Angeles-based joint venture she formed with Discovery Communications Inc. OWN will be available in more than 70 million homes.
"The Oprah Winfrey Show," broadcast from Chicago on ABC stations across the United States and in more than 140 countries overseas, is one of the TV industry's biggest money-makers. It is the top-rated US daytime talk show, averaging 7.1 million viewers this year.
It has helped Winfrey, born in 1954 to a single mother in rural Mississippi, amass a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine at $2.3 billion and anchored an entertainment empire that produces television talk shows, movies, and the style magazine O, the Oprah Magazine.
Winfrey, 55, who earned an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in the 1985 film "The Color Purple," is considered a major opinion-maker in the United States. Her public backing of presidential candidate Barack Obama last year was considered a boost for the Democrat's campaign.
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good bye Oprah. Someone will just replace her anyway.
It's not over till the fat lady sings...oh... wait, is that opera or oprah?
Who cares why she's quitting? I don't like her show, but you have to admire her, she's gone from homelessness to being, arguably, the most influential woman in the western world.
Money is no object to her, especially when she already has that massive fortune. I suspect she plans on concentrating on her relief efforts in northern Africa.
My comment may appear like I'm sensationalising... but if you actually WATCH a descent amount of Oprah - the racist undertones are obvious as anything. I'm not saying the show is produced to send that message, but you can certainly pick it up directly from Oprah herself. The old "poor enslaved black man" slant on things is #1 in her pecking order.......IMO she does a lot of damage to racism in the USA. She would have voted for Obama if he was a republican for SURE.
If she really is calling it a day then more power to her, but she's announced this sort of thing a number of times before so I'll just wait and see.
I have to admire her for all she has achieved despite her challenging childhood. Instead of whining & turning to a life of crime & blaming a bad childhood like many lowlife criminals she has gone on to achieve an amazing career & life.
I wish her all the best.
Oprah will do anything for ratings!
You want her to make more money C Reid?
ah yes - good to see the kiwi knocking machine still alive and well....
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Oprah is one of those rare individuals who has managed to touch the lives of many while presenting an interesting show. Her record speaks for itself. I very rarely see her show but that doesn't stop me respecting her. It's clear she has a love for people. Thank you Oprah for bringing the Human Factor to TV.