While doing promotion for her latest book, The Path Made Clear, Oprah Winfrey stopped by The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to discuss the backlash she received for her interview with Michael Jackson’s accusers.
For those unfamiliar, Winfrey held a special titled Oprah Winfrey Presents: After Neverland. The special, which aired on March 4 on HBO and OWN, featured a conversation with Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the men who alleged child sex abuse at the hands of Jackson in the documentary Leaving Neverland.
Of the interview, Winfrey referenced a quote from the Mary J. Blige song “Family Affair” in regards to the response. “I haven’t had that much hateration since I did the puppy episode with Ellen,” she said, referring to her appearance on the 1997 episode of Ellen in which Ellen DeGeneres came out as gay.
However, Winfrey expressed that she was willing to incur backlash if it meant shedding light on the issue of molestation.
“But when I saw that documentary, I realized that a lot of people are going to be triggered by watching it, and a lot of people will not understand what the pattern is,” she said, adding that she’d done “217 shows trying to get people to understand that it’s not about one person, that it is about the pattern.”
“People call it molestation, but there is a big seducing that goes on … and that was important enough for me to take the hateration for,” she said.
Watch the full interview below:
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Photo: Comedy Central
