Oprah Winfrey Claps Back At "Hateration" Over "Leaving Neverland" Interview

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Oprah Winfrey speaks onstage the 10th Anniversary Women In The World Summit at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on April 10, 2019 in New York City.
Oprah Winfrey addresses the scrutiny she faced after her interview with Wade Robson and James Safechuck.

The allegations against Michael Jackson have been around for decades but Leaving Neverland brought the claims of the accusers back into a mainstream conversation. After the docuseries aired, Oprah hosted After Neverland, a Q&A with Wade Robson and James Safechuck. As you could imagine, she faced a serious amount of backlash. In a recent interview with Trevor Noah, she opened up about why she was okay with taking a bullet in order for Michael's accusers to speak.

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Per Hollywood Reporter, during the "Between The Scenes" segment of The Daily Show, Oprah opened up about the backlash she faced after doing the After Neverland. "I haven’t had that much hateration since I did the puppy episode with Ellen [DeGeneres, the episode in which DeGeneres came out as gay]," she joked. 

“I realized that a lot of people were going to get triggered by watching [Leaving Neverland]. And a lot of people will not understand what the pattern is,” Oprah said. “I had done 217 shows trying to get people to understand that it’s not about one person; it’s about the pattern, it’s about the seduction,” she continued. “People call it ‘molestation,’ but there is a big seducing that goes on, and the pattern of that seducing. And that was important enough for me to take the hateration for it."

While Oprah was okay with taking the "hateration" at the time, it appears as though she and HBO have been trying to distance themselves from the controversy. Earlier this week, it was reported that HBO has stopped airing Leaving Neverland while Oprah's clips from After Neverland are no longer available on her YouTube channel. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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