Source: Jim McIsaac / Getty
If some folks don’t have nothing else…they have audacity. Longtime radio host Howard Stern took to the airwaves this week to scold media mogul Oprah Winfrey for “showing off” her wealth on Instagram.
“It’s f*cking mind blowing when you follow her on Instagram,” Stern said, according to a report from Variety. “You see her estates, her gardens, the people who service her and, you know…She’s got servants and, like, people cooking and it’s fucking wild. She knows how to be rich…She kind of likes to show it off, which is something I’m not comfortable with. I don’t think that people should show off their wealth.”
He added that “Oprah’s not embarrassed by her wealth at all” and implied that she lacks self-awareness.
However, his co-host and friend, Robin Quivers pushed back against Stern, saying that the billionaire media mogul is simply offering a window into her life and “not showing off.”
“Well you gotta be a little self-aware and know that there are people struggling out there, Robin. You got to,” Stern said. “You gotta kind of think about people who don’t have — to eat. You know what I’m saying? I mean, come on. You gotta be a little bit aware of this shit.”
He continued, “I make a good living, and I’m having trouble watching Oprah. I go, wow. Look what’s going on over there? Her estate is unbelievable. When she goes shopping, she goes shopping in her backyard cause everything is growing back there. There’s a farm back there.”
According to Wealthy Gorilla, Stern is very much underestimating his “good living.” He has a net worth of $650 million.
The same site notes that Winfrey is worth $3.5 billion. The tycoon has been previously quoted as saying, “The reason I’ve been able to be so financially successful is my focus has never, ever for one minute been money.”
Stern did offer a kind of backhanded compliment toward Oprah later in the segment when he talked about her tradition of hosting her “daughters” from The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa to her home for Thanksgiving.
“The girls, they are so sweet,” Stern said. “They — I think they believe Oprah’s God because let me tell you, she provides, she gives them an education. She gives them meals, don’t ask. They love her. And it, it’s impressive. I gotta be honest. I mean, you know, it’s real charity work.”
Meanwhile, it’s been a decade since the inaugural class of the academy graduated. The anniversary will be celebrated in a new documentary. O Girls premiers January 15 at 8 p.m. on Fusion.
One inaugural graduate talked with Essence about the woman they call Mom O, “If I had to pick one, she has really taught me how to love,” Bongeka Zuma said. “She’s taught me the importance of love and the importance of being able to open up our hearts to being loved. I feel like that has really been essential for me because it has influenced so many of my interactions with other people and my interactions with my coursework or things that I’m really passionate about. It has also influenced how I see myself. So, in a way, she’s really taught me to be able to love myself.”
