Every time a new episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show airs in 2010, we will blog along with it. If you have plenty of time, read the long version. If you are pressed for time, read the “What we learned today” summary. If you are really, really pressed for time, read the Twitter-sized summary.

Archive for April, 2010

Date: April 8th, 2010
File Under: Entertainment

Episode 49: TV’s Most Talked About Show: The Cast of Glee

Don’t you just love it when something unexpected and fresh and clever breezes into your life? Like you turn on the TV… The crowd are very happy… A smile comes on your face, you’re singing and dancing. Of course Oprah is talking about the new hottest show, Glee. If you’re not yet a fan, take out your hairbrush and get ready to sing along. Take a look.

It’s the quirky surprise smash hit show which has hit a high note with TV viewers across the country. Glee is the story of a misfit high school glee club with big dreams of ruling the school. The little show-choir that could is led by Rachel, the self absorbed bossy diva played by Broadway sensation Lea Michele. In their never-ending quest to fit in and be show choir champs, the members of New Directions endure endless torment.  Just when it seemed like the Glee club was headed for total failure, a handful of the cool kids reluctantly agree to put their popularity on the line. The star quarterback Finn is played by Hollywood’s newest heartthrob Cory Monteith . Fresh faced newcomer Dianna Agron is the outwardly perfect but secretly pregnant cheerleader Quinn. TONY nominated Broadway veteran Matthew Morrison wins hearts as the endearing choir director Will Schuester. The hilarious Jane Lynch rounds at the cast as Sue Sylvester, Mr Schuester’s arch nemesis, the scheming cheerleading coach who has it in for McKinley High’s newest stars.

Singing Queen’s Somebody To Love, please welcome the cast of Glee. The crowd go wild and are all singing along, including Oprah. The applause is deafening. Much more Glee to come, shouts Oprah. Glee mania has given birth to a brand new brand of superfan, Gleeks. From Milwaukee to Melbourne, Gleeks have gone global. They have an entire audience full of Gleeks, screaming and cheering. Ok thanks says Oprah, let’s meet America’s most popular Glee club- Lea, Cory, Dianna, Amber, Chris, Kevin, Jenna, Mark. From the audience, 4 others stand up. The most dedicated Glee club director on TV, Matthew Morrison. Mr Schuester is here, Oprah shouts. Oprah Winfrey is here, Matthew shouts. Wow, says Oprah. So everybody wants to know who is most like their character. Matthew says that Lea is, because she is a very strong woman and knows exactly what she wants. Lea rubs his arm and says thank you. Oprah asks if it is also because she has been performing since she was 8 years old. Yes says Lea, “I’ve been performing since I was 8 years old on Broadway, and I was very much like Rachel when I was younger, so I kind of draw upon that. But I think she’s amazing. If I can say I’m like Rachel, you know, she knows who she is and she’s proud of that, and I think it’s amazing. I’m so honored to play a character like her.” Really, says Oprah. Matthew says that they call her Child Star. Oprah asks Cory if it’s true that before being cast he only sang in secret. Yes, in the shower, in the car. But it wasn’t really something that he did, he was a drummer, so he never really thought of himself as a singer, so this is all new. Now you’re singing, says Oprah. How do you explain the phenomenon? Matthew says it’s hard to pinpoint one reason Glee has become such a big hit. “If you asked any one of us, I think we’d have a different answer, and I think that’s what makes the show work so well—it works on so many different levels. For me, I think music is the language that we all speak, everyone in the world speaks. So I think its the universal language, and I think the music is the most important part of the show.”

When Glee won their best TV comedy musical Golden Globe. Dianna says attending the Golden Globes was a dream. “The room is full of people that you admired your whole life and, you know, Julia Roberts came up to the table…and I thought just us girls were going to go quiet, but the boys went quiet too,” she says. “She talked to us! And Tom Hanks and all these wonderful people were saying they watch the show with their families, and it was outstanding but astonishing at the same time.”  Oprah asks if it felt kind of out of body. Everything feels out of body, this feels out of body says Lea. Oprah asks if they are all friends in real life. Amber says they are. “We do love each other,” she says. “The funny thing is, we were planning a trip to Cabo and then we found out we’re going to The Oprah Show. So Oprah trumps Cabo.” The crowd whoop. Oprah asks her what it means to her to be in this cast.  She says being part of Glee is especially exciting because she gets to do everything she loves. “I get to dance, I get to act and I get to sing, and I do them all equally on this show,” she says. And the show is loved and they love their viewers and they are on Oprah, what can I say? Says Amber. The crowd go wild. Oprah says that she has heard that Chris finds being on the show therapeutic.  “When I was in high school, I was kind of daily reminded of my imperfections by other students and sometimes the teachers,” he says. “To be a part of a project that kind of celebrates your differences and makes your disadvantages your advantages has been very therapeutic.” The crowd cheer and applaud.

One of the most surprising things fans may notice when they see the Glee cast live is that Kevin McHale, who plays wheelchair-bound Artie, is not actually in a wheelchair. “I love playing Artie in a wheelchair as he is,” Kevin says. “It’s an honor to get to play a character like that.” We have some Glee moms here today, says Oprah Lea’s mom Edith Is here (“My mom is going to freak out” says Lea), Dianna’s mom Mary, Amber’s mom Tiny, they must be so proud. Is must be great to have your mom’s in the audience too.

Oprah asks Jenna what a typical day is like when they are shooting. During a typical day, Jenna says the cast is juggling shooting scenes, learning dances and recording songs. “It’s quite the mash, but we love it all and it keeps us fresh,” she says. Fantastic, says Oprah. Is it as fun as it used to be Mark? Asks Oprah. No, he says, it’s better. He says the busy days, which are usually 14 to 16 hours long, keep him on his toes. “It’s just a whole bunch of extremes. Sometimes you’re just, you know, tired, and sometimes you’re on cloud nine, like today” he says. “But every one of these people is so talented and hardworking, and I’m just so proud of everybody. Our crew, we have to shout out to the crew”.

Oprah asks if they shoot one day a week. No, they shoot every day, says Lea. Every day they are dancing rehearsing and singing. They do 14-16 hour days. It’s a grueling schedule. Lea says what keeps them together is the energy they provide each other that gets them through the days. Their writers provide incredible material that inspires them and pushes them through the day. Oprah asks Dianna if it is fun to be mean and snooty and snarky, yes she laughs. Luckily she doesn’t get mistaken for her character, people don’t push her for being mean. But they do think she is pregnant on the lot, they’ll look he up and down thinking she is very young to be having a baby.

She plays the ruthless, scheming and gleefully mean Cheerios coach Sue Sylvester, come on out movie veteran Jane Lynch. The crowd go crazy. Wow, Jane and Oprah both say. Oprah says they were just talking about playing mean characters, and Sue is the snarkiest. I love it says Jane, Anne Brennan writes all the stuff that comes out of her characters mouth. “Sue Sylvester has like that devil on her shoulder that’s whispering in her ear that we all have, although we have filters, we don’t let it come out. She just lets it fly,” Jane says. “It’s liberating. It’s wonderful. It’s delicious to play her. I’m a much nicer person.” The crowd scream. Oprah asks if she gets mistaken for a mean person, Jane says fans never mistake her for Sue, luckily. “They just love it. They go, ‘You’re so mean!’ She’s almost cartoonishly mean,” Jane says. “If I had a mustache, she’d be [twirling it] all the time.” After playing Sue Sylvester for six months, Jane says she’s suddenly hip again. “My demo is 16-year-old boys. They never noticed me when I was 16, you know? I wasn’t in the hip crowd. But now all of a sudden there’s these cool people in coffee shops going, ‘Hey!’ I go back to my 14-year-old self,” Jane says. “And they like me”. They show a photo of Jane at 14. Oprah asks what kind of student Jane was at school. “I sang in the choir for four years and I did plays and I was also in sports and I kind of kept under the radar in terms of being mocked and made fun of.” She hung out with popular girls and dweebs. Oprah asks if the others were made fun of at school. Lea was the musical theatre girl, which was not understood, nor was it cool like playing sports. She loves that the show shows you can be cool too. Oprah says that is so cool. She says that she loves the quote attributed to Bill Gates- be careful of the geeks you make fun of because they’ll be your boss some day. They all nod.

The cast and crew of Glee have never given anyone an all-access pass to the show, so when they offered one to the Oprah Show, they jumped on it. At Paramount studios, it is 7am and they have a big day ahead of them. In the dance studio, the tin shed, they are learning a new number. First they learn the dances without the music, then they go through with the music. It can take 3-8 hours, working on 2-4 dances at any time. Jane Lynch shows them wardrobe, her track suits in a rainbow of colors. In the trailer they get their costumes, hair and make-up. The crew are setting up lighting and cameras in the High School choir room. Neil Patrick Harris is on set, playing a villain, he thinks that the program is amazing. Jane Lynch shows her office with trophies, fake books and cheerleading memorabilia. Amber shows the singing studio, where they do all their own singing. They are now at the final step at their location High School where they get to shoot today. The Oprah Show producers said after that tour that they have to be the hardest working cast in TV. The countdown is on to the highly anticipated Spring season of Glee, starting April 13th it will be on Tuesday nights on Fox at 9pm Eastern.

Glee executive producer and co-creator (and former real-life glee-clubber) Ryan Murphy said the award was for anybody who ever got a wedgie in high school, in his Golden Globe acceptance speech.  “To me, the show is about celebrating the difference in you. I think when you’re that age you think the difference in you is the worst thing, and I think the older you get, you find out that it’s the best thing,” Ryan says. “So that’s what the show is about. That and about that the arts matter.”  Oprah says that she is already worried, what happens when everybody graduates? They never will says Ryan. The crowd applaud. It’s a ten year high school, he says. Oprah asks where the idea came from “I had wanted to do something optimistic. I thought that there wasn’t anything on television that was really sort of upbeat and had a happy ending every week. So I’m as shocked as anybody that it got picked up, but it did.”  Oprah says that she heard that he told Rolling Stone that Lea has a once in a generation voice. He did say that, he thinks that it is true. “It sort of cuts through you. It pierces through you. It’s incredibly moving and soulful beyond her years.” It’s great to have her in their midst he says. “Like that next sort of Barbra or Patti LuPone or just that great, big, universal talent that is so inclusive to people.”

Oprah asked if casting was like casting a Glee club, was it like art imitating art? “We took three or four months and we went all around the country and we wanted unknowns.” They spent a lot of time in New York, they got Mat and Lea from the Broadway auditions. “We encouraged people to just come in off the street. I think Chris had to drive down from where he lives and walked into the room and sang and was so unique and we’re like, ‘We’ve got to write a part for that guy.’ And we did. That was the spirit of the show. New voices, new talent, fresh faces.” They are casting 3 or 4 parts for season two and they have alot of online auditions and all of the talent is going to come from those auditions.

Wow says Oprah. Matthew wasn’t in the performance earlier and they can’t let the show go by without something from him. Mr Schuester has agreed to show off some of his best dance moves. The crowd cheer. As the elder statesman of the group he says that he’ll do his best. As they are dancing he wants to bring up one of the biggest hitters, he’s so pleased that Glee can showcase the talents of someone who just breathes dance. He asks Harry Shum Jr to come on up. Mr Schuester isn’t backing down for nobody they both say. They both dance, Matt waves a white handkerchief.

Ryan Murphy told the Oprah Show that while researching the show, he spent a lot of time looking online at choir groups, and one of them served as a great inspiration for Glee. The choir room was even modeled after theirs. Just last week, a few of the show’s stars helped deliver some big news to them.

Amber, Matthew and Cory are at John Burroughs Public High School  in Burbank CA, and those inside have no idea what is about to happen. The Glee cast walk into the room and the choir are shocked. Matthew says that the cast of Glee are going to be on Oprah and they are excited, and that the High School choir are all going to fly out to be on Oprah too. Some of them cry, they all scream. They all sing together.

All the way from Burbank California, please welcome the John Burroughs High School Choir Powerhouse. They perform Madonna’s Vogue dressed in Baroque period costumes. That was fantastic, says Oprah. She hears that they practice every day of the school year and they do all their own fundraising. They are big Glee fans. Oprah says that when the producers were at the school they noticed one piece of equipment that was on its last legs. Oprah’s friends at Dove had an idea, and made some calls and here is their new Baldwin Grand Piano. Thanks to Baldwin. That is not all says Oprah. The students are responsible for raising 99% of their annual budget for their school music program. Dove Haircare wanted to help them keep doing what they love, because that is what this show is all about, feeling the glee inside. Inside the piano is a little gift from Dove, a check for $100,000. Thanks to Dove, that should help you in your fundraising. Thank you, thank you so much says Ashley of John Burroughs High School.

Before the show the cast of Glee did something really spectacular. Each of them signed the pledge to never, ever text while driving and to only use a headset if they absolutely have to talk on the phone. The John Burroughs Choir has also signed the pledge. Oprah appreciates it, spread the word everyone. For all the Gleeks in the audience, they are all going home with Season one of Glee on DVD. Stand by for the season 2 premiere on April 13th. Thanks everyone.

WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:
Glee is extremely popular; fans in the audience of the Oprah Show shout and scream alot.
Glee has inspired a new breed of Superfan, the Gleeks.
The cast of Glee are probably the hardest working cast on television.
The cast of Glee are on set 14-16 hours a day singing, dancing, rehearsing and filming.
The cast of Glee are all very proud of each other and they love each other and they are the best of friends.
A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:
Glee shows that the uncool can be cool. Oprah thinks that is so cool.
Date: April 7th, 2010
File Under: Celebrity, Entertainment

Episode 48: Funny People

They are two of the funniest people on earth and they are both here today. Welcome Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. They both hug Oprah, the crowd go crazy. OK so you all just saw Date Night, right, isnt it laugh out loud funny? Oprah asks the audience. Oprah just saw it and it is crazy, it’s a crazy premise, but it is so funny. Is it your first time working together? It is, they met each other over the airwaves to say hi, but this is the first attempt, says Tina. How fun was that? Says Oprah, she could watch the out-takes all day, they are as funny as the movie. Steve says that Tina is a “national treasure” somebody that he wanted to work with, he’s a big fan. When your expectations are not only fulfilled but exceeded… she was fantastic, it was great. Oprah asks if they ad-libbed most of the time in the movie. They did a lot, says Steve. They would shoot the scene as scripted because they had a really good script, then the director would have them do it their way, says Tina. There’s something that is ad libbed in almost every scene, like Steve licking a stripper pole then getting nauseous. Yes, says Oprah. Improvised, says Tina. The stripper pole scene is hilarious says Oprah, when you get down on the floor and you are humping the floor, that is so funny. My parents are going to be so proud of me, says Steve. They all laugh.

Tina, as you all know, is the creator, writer and executive producer and star of the hit show 30 Rock, says Oprah. The crowd applaud. She has a brand new movie and is on the cover of Vogue. How was the cover of Vogue for you? Asks Oprah. Oprah cried when she saw the Polaroids. Tina says yes, and you keep them. It was really fun, she says. Anything like that she goes into with no pressure- they know they didn’t hire a model so she just goes and has fun. Oprah asks about Esquire magazine, and says that cover was hot. Tina says that was fun, the dirty photo shoot was a little easier for her, she doesn’t know why. More comfortable. Oprah says that now Tina is the thinking man’s sex symbol. Steve says “Say it, you have the best response to this ever”. Tina says that sometimes she’s heard that and she feels like that isn’t a thing, because even the thinking man wants Jessica Simpson. Steve says that she is the sex symbol of the thinking man and the idiot, quite frankly.

Oprah says to Steve that we all know him from The Office, of course “and my Vogue cover” Steve interjects. He’s been called a comic genius- once you have been labelled that is there pressure to live up to it? No, you just go off the cliff, he says. If you ever invited him to a cocktail party, he would go right against that, he says. Tina says that he is very quiet in real life. Steve says that is another way of saying that he is quite boring. Oprah says that is why he is invited to cocktail parties. To be boring? asks Steve. No, to be the comic genius says Oprah. Oprah asks him when he knew that he was funny. He’s never really thought of himself as funny per se, he doesn’t sit and watch himself and say damn that is hilarious. He has no idea, really, no answer. He knows what he thinks is funny- Steve Martin, John Cleese, and Peter Sellers among others are people that he respects and emulates. Oprah asks why he thinks that people are calling him a comic genius? Argh, he err,… Tina asks if she can answer for him? Yes. Tina says that Steve is a comic genius because he is one of the greatest improvisers in the world, yes, that’s it, says Steve. The detail and specificity that he brings to his character in The Office, where it is so painful and embarrassing that you can’t help but laugh at it. He will sink into an awkward and uncomfortable moment so deeply and commit to it so hard, but he is always playing his character, not trying to act crazy, just playing this sad, sad little character.

The movie, Date Night, opens April 9th. Steve and Tina play the Fosters a run of the mill suburban couple whose lives are overtaken by boredom. Determined to spice things up they plan a date night at a fancy restaurant. When they can’t get a table they claim to be another couple, a couple who turn out to be on the run from angry mobsters. This case of mistaken identity turns their romantic evening into the wildest night of their lives.

Well, there is lots of funny scenes in here but the pole dancing scene is the funniest thing that she has ever seen, says Oprah. The whole scene just said on the page that they danced, says Tina. They decided that the characters were not prepared for that so they shouldn’t be either, which was quite clear says Tina. There was no choreographer, there was nothing. They did two takes, says Steve and the director started yelling things at them like “sex robots” so they did whatever they felt that would mean. Oprah asks what caused Steve to start humping the floor. Tina thinks the director called out “sexy worm” or something. Well it’s what you do when you hear the words sexy worm says Steve.

In honor of the movie, they filled their audience with some couples on a date including one who are on their first ever date. Where are you? Stand up, says Oprah. They stand and look embarrassed. Tina asks if they just met today. No they met in October and this is their first date. It’s going pretty well they say. That’s pretty cool says Oprah.

Tina Fey and Steve Carrell, both masters of improv comedy, had fun going off script and ad-libbing through their new movie Date Night. They show some out-takes from the film. They both got their start with Second City in Chicago. To show off their improv skills, the Oprah Show shot some footage of the audience members and Steve and Tina are going to improvise the dialogue. Tina improvises, the crowd applauds. They both improvise, the crowd applauds. Oprah hears that they have questions for her.

Yes, Tina asks if Oprah could have dinner with any person living or dead in the whole world, what would she order? Oprah says that is a good question. It depends on whether she is on a program or not, if she’s juicing or not. She would probably have Jesus over for fried chicken. That would be great, says Tina. Tina asks what is going on with Oprah and Jamie Foxx, because Tina feels that Jamie may be in love with Oprah. Oprah says that there is a good vibe, they are good friends, they email and text. Tina says that she’ll know if they get home and this part is edited out… Oprah says that it is a friend thing, but that is good, a real question. Steve says that his are not real questions. “Is it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?” For sure, says Oprah. The second question is “Who let the dogs out?” Make it a date night with Steve and Tina’s new movie Date Night, it is laugh out loud, knee slappingly funny. Thank you.

He’s been called outrageous, unpredictable and politically incorrect. Tracy Morgan burst onto the comedy scene in 1996 when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live and his popularity soared with his hilarious impersonations from Star Jones to Maya Angelou. Now he is getting Emmy nods for his role as the pampered impulsive TV actor he plays on 30 Rock. Making his Oprah Show debut, welcome funny man Tracy Morgan. They hug, and bow and the crowd goes wild. Oprah says she meant to ask Tina what she should be careful of with him, but he can handle it. Tracy says that Jamie Foxx got problems now, “Oprah Morgan right here”. She heard he said that to David Letterman- yeah, he meant it. She welcomes him to the show and he says he loves her. She says that he has a reputation for being outrageous, is that really him? He’s not like that in real life, he’s a regular subdued guy in real life. His humor is based in reality, based in the moment, so he’s observing but not being funny.

Oprah has heard that Lorne Michaels is Tracy’s Obi Wan Kenobi. Tracy says that he came from a world of black and never did comedy in front of white people, and he would get discouraged, because it’s really hard at Saturday Night Live. And then one night, it was about 4 in the morning, Lorne Michaels called him and saw him frustrated and he said: “‘Tracy, you’re not here because you’re black. You’re here because you’re funny’. And my fangs came down and I began to feed. …and I was like, yo, I didn’t have the burden of having the black community on my.. because sometimes that can just weigh you down. It was just about being funny and free and not worrying and exposing your flaws. Because the writers come from a different world, and sometimes you have to be patient because they don’t know your voice.” That’s why he loves Tina, because she understood his voice, she gets that.

Oprah asks if he always knew that he was funny? He knew he was funny when, he is from where Jay-Z is from- Oprah has been there – Tracy shouts that her street cred is intact. His older brother has cerebral palsy. So when the kids sometimes could be mean in the schoolyard, he couldn’t go get his big brother. So he had to learn how to make the bullies laugh, he says. “I knew I was funny when the bullies were on my side and they protected me.” Wow, says Oprah.

Oprah asks what Tina Fey has meant to him and his career. She is my friend and I love her, he says almost crying. She got your voice, says Oprah. Tina understood his voice, and knew who he was. This whole career is chance and Tina understood that he was making choices on TV, she would write things and encourage him. Oprah asks if a lot of the scripts were written with him in mind- yes he says. Because Tina partied with him and thinks this dude is funny and having a good time, she knew how to use him.

On David Letterman, Tracy said that Oprah is his Valentine. She is his, but they are having some problems because Oprah is always on the phone with Gayle. It’s Gayle this, Gayle that… That was cute, says Oprah. Oprah says she also heard that Tracy and Stedman got into a fight over her at the airport. Yes he says, it goes back to High School when his lady was messing around. Oprah laughs. This is my woman, Stedman knows it, says Tracy.

Oprah read that Tracy thinks he is irresistible to all women. Yes, it is a curse and a blessing he says. Charm, charm. All you have to do is smile he says. Look I got this one right here, he says, look into my eyes I am the black Svengali, he gesticulates to a woman in the audience.

Oprah asks what kind of woman really, really keeps his attention and keeps him stimulated mentally and otherwise? It helps if she has her own talk show, says Tracy. Oprah laughs. He likes a strong woman who is weak enough to need him. He needs to be there, they have to need each other “United we stand divided we fall, we’ve got to be tied with pantyhose two sizes too small.” Oh gosh, says Oprah. A strong woman mustn’t let him get away with too much. He says that he tries to be faithful and monogamous, he’s a man. “Women are God’s greatest creation, it would be Planet of the Apes without y’all”. The most romantic thing that he’s ever done… Wow, bought a puppy, or sent 50 dozen roses, or he might bring home a box of Calgon and let it take all night , with the best of Billy Joel, things like that. Keep it simple. The most romantic thing he ever did was paint his woman’s toe nails. Very good says Oprah, that’s a lovely thing. He tells the man in the audience on his first date, to paint her toenails, she’ll love you forever. Oprah doesn’t know if it’s a first date thing- where I come from it is, says Tracy.

One of the reasons that he is so funny is his honesty, says Oprah, and a lesson that he learned from his father is to be honest. His father was a righteous man and never lied about anything, his drug addictions, the reason he and his mom split up. His great grandmother taught him to be nice and affectionate, she gave him the affection and his father was a very funny man on a level with Richard Pryor. Where he comes from, humor is the knife which cuts through the despair, and he had alot of despair growing up. But his father and Richard Pryor were honest and he learned that he had a story to tell and it was him. His father said one word to him as he grew up, “legacy”. What are they going to say about you when you are gone? Him being honest made Tracy a better man, to thyself be true. Oprah heard that after his drunk driving arrest that he had to wear a bracelet for a while. That was his rock-bottom, says Tracy. “Death is rock bottom for a lot of people because of their addiction and sickness, and for me that was rock bottom because there was a time where professionally things were happening—I’m making a movie with Ice Cube, I’m doing this and I’m doing that and then I’m home one day and I’ve got this thing on my ankle and my oldest son is looking at me and he… ‘What are you doing? What if I started drinking and driving, would that be cool?’ And that was the last time. That was it.”

Tracy says he’s been sober now for three years. The crowd applaud “It’s not even like I try. I don’t even think about it,” he says. “If I go to a club or to a restaurant, I don’t focus on what I don’t want. I don’t go into a restaurant: ‘Oh, I hope I don’t drink. I hope I don’t get drunk.’ No, I’ll go: ‘I want a seltzer water. This is what I want now.’ I focus on what I want rather than what I don’t want.”

The bottom for him was not being arrested but it was his son’s disappointment. Oprah did a show once on fathers, and one man stood up and said something that Oprah has never forgotten: every man has a dream for his family. What is Tracy’s dream for his sons? Tracy says his dream is simple. “I would just want them to have happiness, joy and good health in their life. And to just be respected and respectful,” he says. Respected and respectful Oprah repeats. Are you a good dad? “I’m a great dad. I think I’m number one. That’s what they tell me.” Good says Oprah.

Tracy’s movie is Death at a Funeral- what was it like to play with some of your heroes? “It’s surreal for me. I mean Martin and Chris Rock are my heroes. They’re two of my heroes in comedy, and to be able to work with those guys? It was a dream. I did a movie with those guys! And I made Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence laugh on the set.” Chris Rock is from right up the block from where Tracy is from, so he was inspirational. His next goal is to work with Will Smith and Eddie Murphy. Oprah says wow, I believe that will happen for you. “William Smith and Ed Murph” he says. OK says Oprah. Death at a Funeral opens April 16th, thank you Tracy.

It was the breakout commercial of the Superbowl, and it is making 88 year old Betty White red hot again. Betty has been making people laugh for more than 6 decades. She’s best known as the sex-crazed Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and as The Golden Girls’ sweetly naive Rose Nylund. Betty’s big comeback began in 2009. Playing opposite Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal, Betty stole the show as a brutally honest, rain-dancing granny. A whole new generation of fans crated a massive Facebook campaign to land Betty a Saturday Night Live hosting gig. Guess what? It worked, yay Betty. Yay Betty shouts Oprah as Betty joins her live by Skype. Yay Betty. So Betty, hi, how are you? says Oprah. “I couldn’t be better thank you very much and thank you for the invitation” says Betty. Oprah asks how she feels “The silly part about everything is that I didn’t know I’d been away, and then all of a sudden that Snickers commercial kind of turned a lot of other things on,” she says. “Now I’m busier than I’ve ever been.”

You are 88, you look great and you have tons of energy, what’s your secret? asks Oprah, are you juicing or something? No, she’s blessed with good health and she loves what she is doing, and the Saturday NIght Live thing she doesn’t know where that came from. Actually she started it herself, she jokes. Lorne Michaels told her that he didn’t have her on Saturday Night Live because she’s white, but because she is funny. Oprah laughs, that is so good she says. The crowd applaud. Oprah asks if the whole SNL campaign surprised her? Totally, says Betty. “First of all, it’s a young people’s show, and it’s all the young humor and stuff. And I’m a little past that—just a little,” she says. “I think they’ve lost their minds if they have an 88-year-old woman doing the show. But what do they know?”

She’s hosting in May in New York and the very next day, she starts her new series, Hot in Cleveland for TV Land. So it’s going to be a busy kind of May.

Betty has starred in some of the most beloved television shows of all time, Oprah says that her favorite sit com of all time was The Mary Tyler Moore Show and of course she was on Golden Girls, another great show with a great cast. Oprah asks which was her favorite character to play. Betty says that it is a toss up between the “neighborhood nymphomaniac” Sue Ann Nivens and Rose. Rose was not dumb, she was “terminally naive.” Betty would have to say she had the most fun playing Rose on The Golden Girls. “I was on every week there, and with Mary, I just did like six or seven shows out of twenty two,” she says. “So it was more fun to play with those other wonderful gals every week.”

Oprah says that people still think of Betty as Rose, is there a part of her that still has a little of that Rose-ness in her? Betty likes Rose because she thought life was like a musical comedy. It was going to have a happy ending no matter what ever happened. The “neighborhood nymphomaniac” Sue Ann Nivens was great fun to play. She used to ask her husband, Allen Ludden, ‘How close to Sue Ann is Betty?’” she says. “He’d say, ‘Well, she’s actually the very same character except she can’t cook.”Oprah laughs.

Looking toward her future, Betty says she consults her to-do list—not a bucket list. People always ask her if there is something that she’d like to do that she hasn’t yet done. No matter how the question is framed, her answer is always “Robert Redford”. The crowd applaud, and Oprah asks Betty if she wants to do Robert Redford. Betty says that we don’t get technical about it. “Bless his dear heart, he’s heard me take his name in vain for decades. And he wrote me a very sweet congratulation note when I got the Lifetime Achievement Award from SAG. I was thrilled. I haven’t stopped ringing his doorbell since.” Oprah laughs and asks if she has anything else to do on her to-do list. Betty thinks that what she has will keep her pretty busy. Oprah says that doing Robert Redford will keep her tied up for a while. It’ll keep me happy too, says Betty

Her life is blessed “My life is divided in two parts—half animal work and half show business,” she says. “So when you’re lucky enough to be doing the two things you like best, that is my to-do list. It’s such a blessing.” Wonderful, says Oprah, you are an inspiration and a national treasure. We’ll watch you on Saturday Night Live in May. Thank you.

So, April 30th is going to be National No Phone Zone Day. Everyone is going to be talking about it, they’re taking it to the streets and want you to be part of it. Tune in on April 30th for an Oprah event to help stop texting and talking on the phone while driving. Betty White and Tracy Morgan have agreed to take the pledge. Tracy says pull over, Betty says that she couldn’t agree with it more. Thanks everybody.

WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:

Licking a stripper pole made Steve Carrell nauseous.

When someone shouts “sexy worm”, that means hump the floor.

If Oprah could eat a meal with anyone in the world alive or dead, she’d have fried chicken with Jesus.

Tracy Morgan says that where he comes from, humor is the knife which cuts through the despair, and he had alot of despair growing up.

Betty White really wants to cross Robert Redford off her to-do list.

A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:
Steve Carrel and Tina Fey improv-dance spectacularly well when instructed to be “sex robots” and to do the “sexy worm”.

Date: April 6th, 2010
File Under: Aha Moment, Transformation
1 comment

Episode 47: Humdinger Follow-Ups

It’s Monday and we are live the day after Easter here in Chicago. Hope you all had a great holiday. For the last 25 years we’ve been celebrating weight loss, clapping at the before and afters. Recently, says Oprah “I found something very profound that struck me to my core, and it seems to be helping me in the battle with food”. More on that later. But first, this is exactly what she has been talking about- 8 years ago Kathrine Lee cha-cha’ed on stage after losing 175 pounds, that’s a whole man, really. Let’s take a look.

Aside from the birth of her children, Kathrine says that going on Oprah was the proudest day of her life. To have two of her mentors say well done was amazing, She would have sworn on the bible that she would never go back to the way that she was. Since being on the show she  gained 150 lbs and now has lost over 100 again. She knew  things were out of control with the first 20 pounds. It became complete self sabotage, she felt like she wasn’t worthy anymore and she began to hide. She thinks the biggest mistake she made first time around was doing it for everyone else.  It was either for them or to impress them. The food obsession became replaced by getting people’s attention, doing it so they could say great job. In her closet, she has everything from a size 10 to a size 28. She got rid of most of her clothes but she is hanging on to some. She is scared that she will go there again. She just watched the video where she was so sure that she had lost the weight for good, and then she sees the reality of the last 8 years. She breaks down, and says that she thinks what if.

In the studio with Oprah Kathrine says that she kept the weight off for 7 years, she got home and got in touch with a wonderful man in her life, and she got some love in her life. She was single when she came on the show and was happy with the love of God. But she carried that into her relationships, thinking that she was only worthy if she was working hard for that grace, she was only worthy if she was thin.

They got married and she went on birth control and gained 20 pounds. She had never had a chemical weight gain before, only emotional and choice and genetic weight gains. She started hiding, then got pregnant and went into hiding. She went into solitude, she was sure that her husband would leave. Did he? Asks Oprah. No, he did not. Good for him, says Oprah. He is here and he loves her, he loved her then and loves her now.

The April issue of O Magazine is on stands for another week. The cover is red and in it Oprah boldly announces that her battle with food is over. In that issue Oprah says that she had one of those great a-ha moments after a life changing interview with Geneen Roth. When Oprah read Jeanine’s new book, Women Food and God, which they extract in the issue, Oprah had one of those profound moments, exactly like Kathrine is talking about. What she’d known for years with the help of Bob Greene is that it is not about the weight, but it’s also not not about the weight. Its about using food as a substitute for all the things that are missing in our lives. We all know that we can become addicted to gambling, drugs and potato chips but what is interesting to Oprah is that we can also become addicted to attention, like Kathrine did. Kathrinesays that she went from being imprisoned by her body to being imprisoned by praise. Each day she would dress so that people would notice that she had lost weight. If they didn’t notice, then something was wrong. It was only after she gained all the weight and then lost the weight that she could look back and see that she was addicted to praise.

In the O issue, they talk about ending the tyranny with food. If you can’t pick up the April issue of O, then pick up Geneen’s book. Kathrine read it and said it was a  major a-ha throughout, no wonder, she was building a  house of cards. Kathrine says that she has the technical side down, and has had for a long time, she knows what to eat and how to exercise and all that.  She even  thought that she had dealt with a lot of the emotional issues. Reading the book was a major a-ha moment.

To lose the weight and gain it back was almost unbearable. The first time she had to go into a plus size store felt like a complete regression, her old story was back and it felt like failure. She says that regaining the weight was harder than being fat in the first place. She felt like a hypocrite and a fraud. She lost all the weight, she lived the life for 7 years and she is in the industry, she was teaching.  She was doing exactly what she knew not to do. She knew how to do fat and she knew how to do thin, and she knew about the thin person inside but she wasn’t living it. Oprah asks what is going to be different now? Kathrine says that it is already different, the 100 pounds that she has lost already… Yeah yeah yeah says Oprah. Kathrine says that the applause is nice to have, to be recognized, but it doesn’t define her. She was pleased when she went from a size 28 to a  26, because it was valuable and she knows who she is, and that she is more than her weight. Her value does not fluctuate with her weight. The amount she is loved does not vary with her weight- her husband and business colleagues proved that. It was an incredible experience.

The new book, Women Food and God has a lot of people rethinking their weight battle, Oprah included. One of the things that resonated with Oprah is when Geneen said that ending the battle with food is not about punishing, hating and depriving yourself, it is about being loving and kind to yourself. Kathrine has learned that too. When she regained the weight she’d walk past a mirror and think that she was disgusting, her first thought in the morning would be that she hates herself. And then she’d have to deal with the guilt because she has such a great life and a great family. To find that, the kindness is what healed her. To find everything that is good. She has touched the package, she has a great life.

Oprah says when you see your hips in the mirror you should say Hello Honey Buns, and touches her hips. Hello Honey Buns. You know what, says Kathrine, these hips are what birthed my children.  These hips take her from here to there to love people. She began to appreciate every part of her body right where she was.  She started to look at everything that is good, not what is bad. It then is not about what she’s eating, it becomes effortless. That is what Oprah is finding, this time it is easy, effortless. It’s not about counting or labeling, it’s just being with yourself in a more natural state. Catherine says that it is about preparation not obsessing. They have all the tools, they know exactly what to do, this time they just have to do it and get on with living their life. She just grabs and goes. Oprah finds it disgusting- if she could add up all the energy, time and effort that you have spent obsessing about this. If you could add up all the time, and where has it got you? Exactly, says Catherine. When she stopped that and stopped hiding, she went back to teaching. She lives in Southern California, land of the beautiful people and she has this group of the most amazing women and she’d think why do they want to learn from me? And she’d think because you are smart, you are kind, you have wisdom- they felt the same way about her and she was 300 pounds. She loved herself even at 300 pounds. Catherine says that watching the footage of herself on Oprah when she said she liked herself now was tragic to her because she couldn’t say I love me. And the “now”, the fact that she only liked herself because she had lost the weight, there was a “now” to qualify it. Now she just loves herself. Thanks very much to Catherine. Anyone who  is struggling with their weight, read Oprah’s interview with Geneen Roth. If you are moved by the article, pick up the book or Kindle it. There will be an entire episode with Geneen on May 12th, it’s going to be very powerful for all of us who have been living with this issue.

Three years ago, Oprah talked to a 16 year old named Jake who was born a girl and had lived most of his life as Julia. Her team checked in for an update and there have been some twists and turns. First, let’s look back. He first knew he was different when he was about 7 and told his mom that he was a boy in a girl’s body. Julia was never there, he was always Jake but in a different body. By the time she was 14, Julia she was transitioning into a male with bi-weekly hormone injections and binding her breasts to look less like a woman. By 15 she had a full mastectomy. He wanted to be a male, a husband, a positive male role model, not just a lesbian. As Jake embraced his new identity, his younger brother Jason struggled with the new family dynamic. He missed his sister. For the past couple of years the family were really focused on Jake and Jason felt pushed to one side.

Oprah says that was her big fear when they did this story 3 years ago. Just recently they sent the cameras to catch up with them, take a look. Jake says that life is great. He’s at college and he’s finding out much more about himself. After the show he did some more soul searching and found out that he is attracted to men. He has a boyfriend, they have been together for a year, and Jake has never felt more man than he does now. He and his brother have “kind of fallen apart”. He should have taken the time to tell his parents to pay attention to his brother. They used to be best friends and have no secrets and now they don’t have that anymore. It kills him, because his brother is one of the most important parts of his life. Jason says that he is a very different person than he was three years ago, he’s not really able to connect with his brother, they are going in different directions in life and can’t really talk. Jake says that Jason was jealous of the attention, and no one really asked how Jason was feeling, it triggered Jason into a downward spiral of his own. Last year Jason was diagnosed with anorexia and dropped down to 100 pounds. Everything felt so chaotic and out of control, so he controlled what he ate, it was all he could control. Jake thought that Jason was going to die because he was so skinny, it scared him to death, he couldn’t imagine life without his brother. Jason felt unloved and unnoticed, invisible, and eventually he stopped reaching out- everyone was too busy with Jake. Their mother says that she feels her children’s pain, she admits her part in Jason’s sadness, she should have been more aware of what was going on. A year ago Jason started to date a man and came out to his parents. He didn’t want to tell his parents, to throw off the sense that his mom had at least one “normal” kid.

Oprah finds it interesting that last time she felt so strongly that this would happen, that Jason was a boy being ignored in is own home and that all the energy in the family was going to Jake. The mom says that the most profound thaing that happened was that Oprah tapped her on the shoulder as they were leaving and said be sure to take care of Jason. She was right on. Jason didn’t see that happening then, Jason didn’t think he’d be where he is, but figured that he could have his rebellious stage around this age. He figured once Jake got to a better place, that he could drift off a bit- he didn’t know what he’d be dealing with, but he knew that he’d be dealing with something. So the anorexia really is about being able to control something in your life? says Oprah. Yes, Jason had no control over his intrusive thoughts but could control the we he looked. Jake says that they are best friends to this day, and while he was going through his transition he saw his brother getting skinnier, spending 2-3 hours on a treadmill and only eating green beans. He couldn’t put it together and  say that it was an eating disorder because he was too wrapped up in his own issues. Jason says that the pediatrician said it was an eating disorder, and from there they assembled a team to treat him. Oprah says that he felt disconnected and unloved and this all came about as he tried to connect with something. Jake is doing great, is wonderful. The transition was a great thing for him. He has transitioned but not done gender reassignment surgery. He says that this will make all the guys cringe but it is relatively easy to take a penis, slice it in two, fold it inward and make a vagina. But how do you take a vagina and make it into a penis? In his self exploration and finding himself attractive to males, with his partner (he feels that they will be together for always so he calls him his partner) he has found someone who gets him, which is difficult. His partner loves who he is and what he has, so Jake feels why does he need to? Oprah says that it is interesting if his partner is male and gay- yes says Jake, he is male and born with a penis, and is fully gay-identified- and Jake still has his- vagina, says Jake, yes the word.. vagina, says Oprah. Usually from what Oprah has heard, gay men don’t like vaginas. The crowd laugh a little. Jake’s boyfriend is extremely open to things and they do have sex. He apologises to his mom who says Oh my God I had no idea, while rolling her eyes,  yeah we’re all so shocked adds Jason. Jake says that they have sex like a heterosexual couple would have sex. Jake says that his boyfriend is fine with it because he loves him. Oprah says that she feels we are moving towards that in the world- everyone being who they are and loving who they love. On the flip side, says Jake, he started dating men to begin with because females didn’t get it- they would ask if it made them a lesbian. He would explain that he was a man, he doesn’t have breasts.   Teenage girls didn’t date him because they wanted a penis. Oprah says that she loves that he is so open, so let her ask him this. Men are always so caught up on the whole penis size thing, if you are a transgender and you have a clitoris, which is not a penis and therefore it is not that big. He says that he is pretty well-endowned for a transgender male. Oprah says that as a trans-man, size doesn’t matter? He says no, there are things that people can do, there are toys… Oprah says that she doesn’t want to hear, that she appreciates his candor, but she doesn’t need to know. She asks Jason if he identifies as being bi-sexual.  He says that they were raised by their mom to love someone for their soul, not their body, so gender does not matter, neither do genitals. He doesn’t identify himself as bisexual, but others do. Oprah asks how he is now? Quite good actually, he is applying to colleges and is in a more stable relationship than before. He is not as close to his brother but he feels that it will come back again in the future, maybe they need their time to separate. Many families were not as close as they were, so maybe they need their time to grow. Oprah thanks them all and wishes the mother luck.

So it’s only been a few months since you all voted Abraham McDonald the winner of the first ever Oprah Show Karaoke Challenge. What made it even more fun was that the contestants had no idea that they were competing for $250,000 and the opportunity to work with hit-music-maker LA Reed on their own single. It’s been quite a whirlwind for our champion, take a look. Winning the challenge has been amazing, from the experiences of singing places he always wanted to sing, meeting people he has always wanted to meet, to finally  getting out of his apartment has been incredible. He sang at the Lakers Houston Game and met Mary J Bilge and now he has his own house to live in with a tree and a washer dryer and own bathroom at home. He is moving in with his mother and is doing his own renovation. He is at the Record Plant recording Studios for his first session with Island Def Jam. LA Reed has given him an amazing opportunity to come and record a song, he is geeked. He is now recording his CD, it started as a single and has become a record, which he is very excited about. He loves it, he loves it.

Abraham joins Oprah in the studio by Skype from California.  Oprah notes that he is growing more hair because she didn’t like the mohawk thing that he had going. He said that he liked the mohawk, but his sister said that it had to go. Oprah says good for her. She asks how the experience has been for him? He says that the beginning of the beginning, seeing his dream take legs has been amazing, the family at Island Def Jam have been incredible. It’s been growing, he went from doing a single, Mr Reed offered him the opportunity to do that, but it has become a whole album. He has been in the studio with some amazing writers and musicians. You can download his new single for free for the next 24 hours from Oprah.com. He says that he had such a good time recording the single. He says that it has felt a bit out of body, because this is your life not a movie. He has been flying by the seat of his pants. He says that he calls it Jesus’ Cadillac; he goes wherever Jesus takes him.  Oprah asks what’s next and where did the album songs come from? He is doing some writing with some amazing writers, and testing out what feels good and what sounds good. It’s really about the passion pouring out of him and meeting that with his craftsmanship. Oprah asks him how it feels never to have to go to the Laundromat again? He shouts that he never wants to see a Laundromat ever again. Oprah says isn’t it wonderful to take the clothes out of the dryer and there they are-does he still appreciate that? He was appreciating that just yesterday. He thanks Oprah so much for allowing the whole contest to take place for all the contestants, he doesn’t even have the words.  He calls her team The Great Machine and she says that she thinks that she has the best team in TV. She thanks him very much for acknowledging that. Oprah says she heard that he got a new car, did he make it a No Phone Zone? He sure did, he says and holds up his copy of the No Phone Zone Pledge. He had his entire family sign the pledge too. That’s good Oprah says. She is so proud of him.

Last fall we met Cheryl, a single mother of two who confessed to taking 7000 prescription pills a year, remember this? That morning when she woke up, Cheryl knew that she was out of pills and called her friend who rushed over with her pills. She knew that her Vicodin wouldn’t get her through the day, and she shared her pills with her son. Watching her son go through withdrawal was too hard, so she shared her pills with him. She no longer had a job and was days from being evicted, her addiction probably cost her over $100,000. They weren’t the only ones affected by the addiction, her daughter Veronica learned to raise herself and said that she missed when everyone was real with real emotions.  It was just words, you couldn’t see through to their hearts. Back when she was in Elementary School, her mom was always there, being the parent handing out cookies for the kids. Now she’d be suprised if her mother knew what her grades were or even if she’s at school. In the studio in 2007, Oprah asked how hard it had been- its been hard but it’s like a habit. It’s their normal and she can’t change it so she has to make it her normal and get on with her life herself. Cheryl wanted to change but the cost of rehab would be astronomical.

Immediately following that show, a Treatment Center in Rockford Illinois agreed to accept Cheryl and her son into treatment. Cheryl and her daughter Veronica were on Skype but it went down so now they are on the phone. They are doing well today, and have many days ahead of them. Cheryl thanks Oprah for the opportunity to open the eyes of America and for the opportunity to heal herself; she is alive . Cheryl was an inpatient for 3 weeks and then she was an outpatient. Oprah asks if it was rough- the first three days were terrible but after that she began learning things about herself and realized that she was in the right place. She has been sober now for 205 days. Wow, good for you says Oprah, the crowd applaud. Oprah was so moved by Veronica and her desire to have a connection with her mom. Things are great now, being on the show allowed Veronica to get through to her Mom’s heart and now it is total opposite, they bond alot now. Really, says Oprah, she’s present for you? Yes definitely, 24/7. When she wants a pill, Cheryl prays to God. Three days before Oprah contacted her, she prayed to God because she had hit rock bottom and she couldn’t go further. She told God, take me and do what you will. She shared her story when she saw a call for responses from the Oprah Show asking if you were addicted to prescription painkillers. She shared her story and three days later she was contacted by the Show. It was a God thing, says Cheryl. Everything is a God thing says Oprah. I hear ya Oprah, says Cheryl. Food addiction is a God thing. Drug addiction is a God thing, Its all about being disconnected from source, and I am so pleased that you found that out, says Oprah. Thank you both so much.

Tune in tomorrow for a special announcement about our No Phone Zone Pledge  which will sweep the country. Thank you.

WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:

Being overweight is not about the weight, but it’s also not not about the weight. Its about using food as a substitute for all the things that are missing in our lives.

Ending the battle with food is not about punishing, hating and depriving yourself, it is about being loving and kind to yourself.

If you have a transgender child, do not focus all your attention on that child if they have siblings.

Oprah feels that in the world we are moving towards everyone being who they are and loving who they love.

Everything is a God thing. Food addiction is a God thing. Drug addiction is a God thing, Its all about being disconnected from source.

A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:

God, God God, Jesus, addiction, recovery, God.

Date: April 3rd, 2010
File Under: Celebrity, Grief

Episode 46: Janet Jackson and Tyler Perry

Since her brother Michael’s shocking death, Janet Jackson has been very guarded about her feelings. But now she says she’s in a new place, with a fresh perspective  9 months later, she’s drawing on all that she has been through and is putting herself out there in a way we’ve never seen before.

We all remember where we were when we heard the news, the world was stunned when we heard of the shocking death of Michael Jackson. Several days later, younger sister Janet spoke on behalf of the family. At the time of his death, Janet had just started production on her latest film, Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too? You can feel the pain and raw emotion in Janet’s performance. Welcome Janet Jackson.

They hug. Oprah says that every woman needs a golf club now and then, referring to the scene in the film. Janet says that it felt nice. On the first take she broke the club and it hit her in the ankle and it hurt. Really, says Oprah. Oprah says that obviously Janet was in character but had to use her own self and emotions. Janet says that she used her own pent up emotions and it was very therapeutic. Oprah says that we all remember where we were when we heard the news about Michael, it’s one of those seminal moments in history. Janet was at home in New York, she got a call from her assistant who said that there was something on TV about Michael being ill. She called home and reached her sister Latoyah, her nephew and her brother Jermaine. They were all on their way to the hospital. She can’t remember who she called back to see how he was doing, but then she was told that he had passed. Oprah reiterated that in Janet’s statement after the death, she said that to the world he was an icon, but to them, he was family. Does it feel surreal? Janet says that it is still hard to believe, not a day goes by when they don’t think about him. Oprah asks who in the audience has seen This Is It? Some of the audience applaud. Janet has not seen it and doesn’t know if she will ever be able to watch it. She had to turn away at the clip. Oprah says that it was great to see him in process and it’s great fro fans to have that document. He did look awfully thin and didn’t seem to be the Michael that we’d known in the past, says Oprah. Was Janet and the family aware of a problem? Janet gave her parents a surprise party a month before and they knew he had a problem, as he was thin then. They had tried interventions but he didn’t think that he had a problem. Of course they were all worried, but he was in denial. The last time she wasn’t able to attend, but everyone else was there. Oprah was at an intervention once and says that it is remarkable, it is like being bombarded with love, with everyone trying to reach out. Janet says that she had to leave once, she was so overwhelmed with emotion she had to walk out the room, it was too much for her to handle. What people were saying, and knowing him and hearing what everyone said, and knowing that he had a problem but seeing the denial. We have to remember that a lot of Janet’s relationships have had problems with addiction so she knows something about it. Its difficult when you recognize it because she has dealt with it with past relationships. Oprah says that some reports said that Michael was severely depressed before he died, does Janet think that was true, because we can’t tell because he was such a consummate performer, and that he was most himself when on stage? Janet says that she thinks you have to be to get to that place. Oprah says that we all know how lack of sleep affects us, how we feel when we haven’t slept for a couple of days. In Feb, Los Angeles prosecutors charged Dr Conrad Murray with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson. They say that he administered a lethal dose of Propofol, a powerful operating room anaesthetic which actually killed Michael. He pled not guilty to the charges and has returned to practice. Oprah asks if Janet blames the doctor for Michael’s death. Yes she does. He is the one that was administering the drug from what she knows. Oprah asks about the children. Janet says that they are well. Oprah says that for years Michael protected them and kept them out of the public eye and it is interesting that wherever they go now, to the store or to get an ice cream cone the paparazzi are there, how are they handling that? They are ok, all her nieces and nephews are ok , says Janet. It is difficult, there father passed but they are dealing with it. Thank God they have their family around and all their cousins, some of whom are very close in age. Are they being raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses asks Oprah? No, they used to go to the Kingdom Hall, Michael would take them from time to time. Oprah says that in the religion you don’t celebrate birthdays or holidays, so she wonders how Janet feels with them being raised Jehovah’s Witnesses.; how Michael would feel about that? They do celebrate birthdays says Janet, they do celebrate Christmas, it was a foundation. They do get to celebrate birthdays.

They show footage of Janet awarding the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award to Michael, seventeen years ago. Oprah notices that Janet can’t watch it. Janet says that she can’t watch images of him or listen to his music

Isn’t it hard says Oprah because you cant be in Los Angeles, without seeing billboards everywhere? Oprah was in LA before This Is It came out there were adverts everywhere. Janet says it was hard, she had to keep looking away. Oprah asks Janet when she is able to go the space, the warmest place with thoughts about him, what are those thoughts? Janet says that when they were kids, how much fun they had together. They spent all day together. She can look at the photos of them as kids, it takes her to that place where they were as kids, she has a beautiful photo of them as babies in her home. They take her to that place she missed even when he was here. Oprah asks when she began to lose him as a brother? Janet replies around the time of Thriller, she wound up getting into music and left home and he was still at home. They still kept in touch. Oprah asks if Janet was the closest to him in the family- growing up, yes, says Janet. Oprah asks if she was still able to give him advice as the younger sister? Once in a while, Janet says he’d look at her and say what, and she’d know he didn’t want to hear it. But he listened. Oprah reiterates that Janet is able to be surrounded by earlier memories because that was a different time. She mostly remembers his laughter. The last time she saw him was two days before her birthday at the surprise party. She was being silly like they did as kids and he was looking at her just cracking up. The last thing they said was I love you. That’s a good thing, says Oprah. Yes, says Janet.

At the time of Michael’s death, Janet was filming with Tyler Perry, who said he could see  Janet channel her emotions into the role. Come on out Tyler Perry.

The crowd goes wild, Tyler kisses them both. Oprah says that she doesn’t know how to introduce him anymore, he is so all of that and everything. Your friend says Tyler. Obviously you had contacted Janet with the movie script and written the script with the golf club scene, which people thought was a Tiger Woods thing, says Oprah. He says he wrote it long before there were any golf clubs in the news. Oprah says that he says that Janet channeled her emotions into the scene. Tyler says that Janet is extremely private with regards to her family and they spoke of intervention but that he will not speak of it more than she wants her to, but that he wants to tell everyone that they really tried so hard. Oprah says that its really important to say for Janet’s family and the millions out there dealing with abuse, that the perception was that Michael had been enabled. Oprah thought when she heard it, who loved him, as she has participated in an intervention. Tyler knows that Janet is very private but he wants to make sure that everyone knows how hard they tried. Oprah says that it is hard to do when a person is in denial, but it is extremely hard to do when they are in denial and have power and money. But you never give up says Janet. Oprah asks Janet if she was shocked when she heard he was gone from drugs. Janet always felt that day could come, everyone feels that when they have a family member struggling with drugs. Which is your fear, which is why you do an intervention, says Oprah.

In his latest film, Tyler Perry reunites with Janet Jackson for Why Did I Get Married Too? Where four couples meet in the Bahamas for their annual get-together, but soon there is trouble in paradise, secrets are uncovered and everything unravels. There you go, says Oprah. Ok. Oprah asks if it has hard for Janet to cry on cue? Not that week, says Tyler, not really says Janet it’s been easy since she was a kid. That’s really…really, says Oprah. Tyler says that the first movie was so much fun and they really wanted to see each other again, and they all came together at this time and were so protective of Janet. Tyler wanted to be sure that she was protected, they took the snotty crying pictures out of the film, they didn’t want them to be leaked to the press and taken out of context. He changed the ending so that she didn’t have to speak at a funeral. Janet didn’t want him to do that but he did anyway They hold hands. Janet says that Tyler is so kind and everyone was so kind and she just wants to thank him. Oprah says that Tyler is a nurturing guy. Janet says that he was by her side the whole time making sure that she was ok. Oprah was going through some stuff one day and Tyler showed up at her place in California and turned up to say that he wanted to see her face and see that she was ok. Janet is working on a book, she has been doing it for a while,. Many people had asked her about her weightloss and instead of writing a nutrition book she decided to go back into her childhood and look at issues of self esteem. Oprah asks her if she’s an emotional eater. Absolutely. Oprah asks if she put on weight during all this because it would have sent her to a bag of chips. I did, says Janet. Oprah says that she said to someone the other day that they don’t need to worry about her with drugs or alcohol, but if they ever see her with a bag of blue chips she’ll be mainlining them. The crowd laugh. Janet turns to food when she is stressed and down. Other people forget to eat; Janet and Oprah turn to food. Oprah asks if she has girlfriends who helped her through this? A few, yes. Oprah asks if they go away together for a trip like in the films. Janet says has she done it with her girlfriends? No, but she has done it with guy friends.

Oprah loved the scene where all the women were gathered around Janet. She says that she loved it because first of all, women gather. It is like a laying on of hands- did that happen with your friends? Yes, says Janet. Tyler felt that it was a pivotal moment in the film where they could all gather and cry about everything that was going on. Tyler speaks of the Wailing Women in the Bible, and the power of women coming together to cry and bawl and pray. Janet brought so much to the film, it was great. Oprah asks how he writes so well for women? My momma, he says. They all cheer.

Tyler Perry has been in Chicago this week with a funny musical, Madea’s Big Happy Family. They go backstage with Tyler. He introduces two of the lead singers that Tyler found on You Tube. They sing, he tells them they are going to Oprah. Tyler loves making people’s dreams come true. Oprah says that she surprised Tyler by going to his show in Winston Salem North Carolina. She came in the turnstyle with 6000 other people, and all the crowd were screaming. Oprah says that the show is like a revival, a picnic, a show, a good time, its like an entertainment that you have never seen, and people take their whole families. Oprah talks to the You Tube guys, who have never worn suits before and says that she was so impressed by them, but surprised that Tyler found them on You Tube. They were doping around singing the Brady Bunch. They were friends working at a restaurant, they were on You Tube singing and then they got an email from Tyler’s people and they thought it wasn’t true. They met Tyler on a Wednesday and were rehearsing for the play the next day. They go on stage to sing the Brady Bunch song. That’s great says Oprah, they do gospel like she has never seen on that show. Thanks to Janet Jackson, Tyler will stick around. The film comes out tomorrow.

He is all over TV in one of the steamiest ad campaigns of the year, it’s the manly man Old Spice commercial. Oprah loves that commercial. She loves it so much that she’s going to buy some Old Spice. Isaiah Mustafa is the man in the commercial, he joins them from his bathroom by Skype. Look at your audience, then back at me, then at the audience and back at me, he says. Anything is possible when you are Oprah, he says, if she flies him to Chicago next week she can smell him. Oprah says she loves it. How is he doing? Its been amazing, its opened alot of opportunities for him, its getting him up the ladder. Oprah asks wasn’t he a major football player? He says yes but not major. He’d be cut in and out for a few weeks, he played for the Raiders, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland browns and Seattle Seahawks. Wow, that’s major, says Oprah. How did he get this advert? As an actor you take commercial jobs to pay the bills. He asked his mom to look after his daughter while he ran over to do the audition, on the way he called his buddy, left his audition as a message, listened to the way he did the take and liked it so that was what he went with. To get people to listen to you, you “pull it back a little bit and drop the register”. Oprah chuckles and says very good. So every woman wants to know what are the chances of smelling him? He says that he is not smellable, he is taken, only his girlfriend Brandi can scratch and sniff.

Oprah asks if he’s had any big offers since doing the advert, he says that it has been fast and furious and that he just went up for a Tyler Perry movie. Oprah says that she had Tyler here a couple of days ago, what was the film? Colored Girls. Oh yeah, says Oprah. Oprah says that Tyler is a good friend of hers, Isaiah says that maybe she could put in a good word for him. You can do that yourself says Oprah, Tyler is here in the studio. Isaiah is shocked. Tyler asks him to put his shirt on and get out the bathroom. He got the part, he did a great job. Oprah says that is terrific, all from an Old Spice commercial. Congratulations Isaiah, we’ll look forward to seeing you on the big screen.

They play an extract from Janet Jackson’s latest CD Number One. Everyone in the audience is going home with that, yay. Tyler’s movie is coming out today, and they will all go and see it. Oprah asks if he goes to boost the box office numbers, he says that he likes to see it in real time with the audience. Oprah has a screening room but she has a ticket bought for her, so that her vote counts. Tyler agrees to sign the No Phone Zone Pledge, he will commit to only using a hands-free set. Oprah says that means that he can only use a hands free set only if necessary, don’t conduct your meetings in the car. He signs it and says that he had everybody in the studio sign it. Wow, oh my, says Oprah. Tyler says that this is very important because only a few days ago someone was injured here in Chicago. Oprah says that it is happening all over and that having his whole studio sign the pledge was a great surprise, one that she could handle. Why Did I Get Married Too? opens tomorrow. Thanks everybody, goodbye.

WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:

Janet Jackson and her entire family repeatedly tried to stage interventions for Michael Jackson.

Janet Jackson believes that the doctor who administered Propofol to her brother is responsible for his death.

Janet Jackson can not look at images of Michael as an adult, nor can she listen to his music or watch him in film.

Tyler Perry is a kind, sensitive, nurturing friend to both Oprah and Janet Jackson.

Isaiah Mustafa, the actor in the popular Old Spice commercials will only allow his girlfriend to scratch and sniff him.

A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:

Janet Jackson and Oprah Winfrey are both close friends with Tyler Perry, but probably not with each other.

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