Oprah Winfrey must be getting used to waking up to find her name and legacy being dragged through the mud by cancel culture on social media.
Dennis Rodman steals the show on The Last Dance
An episode of ESPN’s documentary on the legend of Michael Jordan at Chicago Bull has somehow fuelled a hate train against the veteran talk show host and billionaire media mogul.
On episodes 3 and 4 of The Last Dance one of the key standout characters, this week was Dennis Rodman. The polarizing power forward staked a claim in the Bulls’ NBA triumphant run in the early-to-mid 90s.
However, much of his popularity had a lot to do with his off-field antics, his wild public appearances and his outward candidness about his sexuality.
Rodman’s old interview with Oprah resurfaces and now people hate her
In this day and age, the world has come to embrace differences in sexuality but back then, it was an entirely different time. Social discourse was not shared and influenced on a universal scale like it is today.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Rodman and other sexually ambiguous people were viewed as taboo by mainstream America back then.
Oprah Winfrey was a very influential voice at the time. Her self-titled daytime talk show was a very powerful platform. Looking back at the interview that has everyone up in arms, Winfrey had an opportunity to inform a narrow-minded society and change the discourse around people like Rodman.
Watch: Oprah interrogates Rodman about his sexuality
The billionaire has yet to address the backlash — if she ever will — but it is clear that in the snippet that has done the rounds on social media, she may have not handled such a sensitive topic in an appropriate and respectful manner.
The sentiment around this clip was unanimously against Winfrey’s perceived harsh interrogation of Rodman’s sexual preferences.
It almost sounded like the basketball player’s insistence that he was asexual and not homo or bisexual was a shelled response to her prodding around for Rodman’s feelings towards men.
Social media’s verdict on Oprah
Suffice it to say, Winfrey will want to avoid social media for a while with all the barrage of hate she is facing. Here are some of the reactions we took from Twitter.
