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Question of the Day | 12/11/2008 11:00 pm

Weigh in: What do you think of Oprah's brave revelation that her weight has gone up to 200 pounds?

Liz Smith

Liz Smith | 12/11/2008 11:00 pm

Liz Smith's Not Surprised Oprah's Sharing Her Personal Struggle

I never cease to wonder at how Oprah uses facets of her own personal life to illuminate problems and procedures facing us all. She developed an entire successful magazine using this method and she gets results. 1) She defuses her personal wealth and specialness by appearing open and generous. 2) She illustrates problems and solutions that are common but very bothersome. 3) She instigates a sympathetic rapport with her audience by relating to them, being candid and down to earth.   

P.S. She guarantees magazine interest and TV ratings over the next months as she lets her audience follow her latest weight loss. Can she do it? You bet. She is one brilliant cookie.

Click here on this text to read my New York Post column.

Jane Wagner

Jane Wagner | 12/13/2008 9:00 am

Jane Wagner: Oprah's 'Openness and Honesty Are Inspiring'

I always respond to these questions the way Liz does. She puts things so thoughtfully and beautifully, I really feel I should just say, "Ditto."
I loved Liz’s answer to the Oprah question. Anyway, here’s my two cents worth:

I admire Oprah and think she shows courage in sharing details about her life. She takes us with her on her journey through her troubles and triumphs to self-discovery. Her openness and honesty are inspiring and her self-revelation often leads to our own self-awareness. Oprah is a national treasure not just because she is an important communicator but because she is a powerful consciousness raiser.

I think of all that when I think of Oprah — not how thin or how fat. Even Buddha had a few extra fat cells.

93 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Luyah Ivey
I hope you ladies enjoy an excerpt from the Love Letters from Unhealthy foods (coming soon). Hello sweetheart, how are you feeling today? I’ve been hearing whispers all over town that you have been thinking about leaving me, haven’t I been there for you? haven’t I been home every single night waiting patiently for you to come in? I’m on every corner in some shape or form just waiting for you to drive by and think about me. Haven’t I given you all the fat and calories that any female has ever wanted? didn’t I raise your cholesterol level to an all time high? didn’t I make your heart beat faster than anything else? Who fixed it so that you could lay around and do nothing all day? I did. You told me that I was the sweetest thing in your life, ” don’t leave me baby”. Hey girl, I thought you loved the way I make the fat hand over your jeans whenever you sit down, or the way your thighs wrinkle whenever you cross your legs. Have you forgotten how my sugar gets you so high? I know eventually it brings you down again and I apologize, but I can’t help it sweetie, that’s just the way I am. I admit , I love the fact that you have allowed me to control what goes into your mouth and I have made you feel so fat and uncomfortable, that you don’t want to participate in anything anymore (that’s o.k. my love, I can have you all to myself now). ————- Hey darling, what is this I hear about you flirting with lettuce and tomato at the grocery store? What’s going on with that? Was water there? Did you happen to run into whole grain breads too? They all run together you know, I’m not sure if this is true but I hear that they only deal with women who have self-esteem and self worth, and I recognized from the beginning of our relationship that you didn’t have either one of those qualities sweetheart, baby I know that you don’t care enough about yourself to walk at least two to three days a week, do a little yoga with a friend, or a few crunches here and there, I understand the fact that women like you really don’t want to get to know themselves, because if they do, they just might have to deal with some issue that they would rather keep buried inside. That’s o.k. with me cupcake, just keep it all inside, because I’m here for you.—————-Baby, if you have been thinking about having breakfast with cantaloupe and oatmeal, “forget about it” they can’t do a damm thing for you except bring you down, you don’t need to be healthy and feel pretty, you don’t need to get down to your ideal weight, or eat foods that were created especially for you! What would you look like munching on a fresh bell pepper and some sweet onions that was cooked in some olive oil, with some whole grain rice and a piece of fish,seasoned to your liking? everyone knows that you are not on that level my dear. ———Speaking of water, he thinks he is all of that, believe me baby, he is nothing compared to me, I hear that he is cheap, easy to get to and has no color or flavor! Unlike me, I come in all flavors, shapes, sizes and colors, and I’m more expensive too. I think it’s time for me to share something with you “my dove” I lost my last women to water you know, all I’m trying to say is “I love you” and I’m here to fill that empty heart of yours, I’m here to make you happy whenever you lonely or bored , stressed out or sad I can satisfy your every craving. Listen girl, if you stick with me I promise you, there will be bigger and better things to come. On the other hand, if you decide to start dealing with Healthy and his buddies, I can guarantee you one thing for sure, “YOU WILL BE LOOSING ME” Signed Unhealthy Foods P.S. don’t go changing Hey ladies I hoped you enjoyed that part of the Letters, (more to come) I believe it is a fun way to start a conversation about what we eat and why we eat it. I look forward to some feedback, I’m saving up now to have it published on the internet, wish me luck. J.Ivey
By Luyah Ivey on 01/14/2009 10:54 am