Debbie Schlussel: HOprah Watch: Does Oprah Practice Apartheid? It Appears She Does
Does Oprah practice apartheid?
Today, on self-absorbed Oprah's XM radio station, HRHSBOtU (Her Royal Highness Supreme Being of the Universe) Oprah is broadcasting the opening ceremony of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, which took place today.
The broadcast, conceitedly entitled "My Tomorrow" by Oprah, should probably be subtitled, "The New Apartheid." You see, Oprah personally handpicked the 152 girls who will attend her new South African school.
And based on photos, it appears not a single one of the girls she picked is White. When I first heard about Oprah doing the admissions, herself, last spring, I contacted her Harpo Studios to find out whether Oprah chose any Whites for the school. An Oprah press person called me back and told me they'd get back to me with the racial make-up of the entering classes of Oprah's Academy. Now, months later, they never did.
And it appears there are no White students. Were none of the 3,500 applicants White? Were Whites told they need not apply? Are there no South African White female "teens and preteens from poor and troubled backgrounds"? Since Oprah calls the girls her "dreamgirls," would love to know the answers. But, alas, I didn't get any.
For someone who opposed apartheid and openly preaches harmony of the races, it appears HRHSBOtU doesn't practice what she preaches. Rape of young White girls is now at epidemic proportions in South Africa. You'd think that one of these victims would benefit from attending Oprah's posh new school--complete with yoga studio and beauty salon.
But apparently, there is not room on the posh, $40 million, 22-acre complex for any White young women. If there were, I'd think the Oprah people would get back to me with that information. But they haven't.
And based on her broadcast conversations with Friend Gayle King, Oprah apparently doesn't really like White people all that much.
Well, she can get away with it in South Africa. But if she refused all White candidates or didn't encourage them to apply to a school in the U.S., she'd be violating civil rights laws.
Posted by Debbie on January 2, 2007 12:44 PM to Debbie Schlussel