Oprah Under Fire

This weekend Oprah Winfrey faced controversy from her own supporters over her backing of presidential candidate Barack Obama. Since Oprah joined Obama on the campaign trail to lend her support in Iowa, more than 600 of her own fans have harshly criticized her for her choice of Obama rather than Hilary Clinton. While it is a fair assumption that not everyone in the demographic that watches Oprah will agree with her political views, some of her fans have surprisingly gone so far as to call her a traitor for her decision to support a candidate of her race rather than a candidate of her gender.

The conversation, sparked by a post from user Austaz68, resulted in over 600 responses, underlining the long known power of blogs in the political arena. In this case, it is also indicative of the level of support received by folks like Oprah who make endorsements. In creating dissent among her own fan base, Oprah may potentially be forced to limit her own interactions with the presidential campaign to make sure she doesn't isolate her own fan base, thus taking away one of Obama's most famous and influential supporters.

And if that wasn't enough by itself, today Oprah's attack from the democrats continued when she announced that Rabbi Shmuley Boteach would receive his own show on Oprah's XM satellite radio channel. Rabbi Boteach is a strong Rudy Giuliani backer who has actively participated in raising money for his presidential campaign. Oprah's fans once again protested at this action not only because it takes support away from Obama and the Democrats in general, but also because this has now aggravated the population she speaks to. The speculation of Giuliani's questionable treatment towards women and lack of distancing himself from some of his racist supporters offend both groups that Oprah appeals to.