The Oprah Effect

Description: What does it say about our system that one person can make such an impact?

Question: What impact has your friendship with Oprah had on you?

Transcript: Well I wouldn’t call Oprah and I close friends. You know we . . . She’s been really helpful to me, and I have so much respect for her. I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with her a few times, and I think she’s, you know, one of the most amazing individuals in the world, truly. She’s done so much good for the world, and she’s been so successful, and she represents herself . . . and frankly she represents Black people really well. You know she . . . She’s someone that we are really proud of. And I’m proud to be associated with her. I’m proud that she loves my music enough to recommend it to her fans, and it means something. And I think she’s a great example of someone who has been very careful with her brand, and has a name that actually means something. That when she associates herself with something, it carries weight. And how many people can say that? It’s really impressive, and I’m proud that she’s decided that my music is something that she really loves, and that she finds worth recommending to people.

Question: How has Oprah influenced American culture?

Transcript: She has influenced a global culture. I go to South Africa, and Oprah’s big there. I go to Europe, and people have seen me on Oprah there. I go to . . . My good friend, his mother is from Pakistan. She sees me on TV there, you know, through Oprah. And she’s influential everywhere, but clearly she has influence here in the States. I mean I don’t need to state the obvious, but her book club obviously makes a huge difference. Specific artists, when they go on and perform there, their record sales go up. Mine go up when I go on her show. It means something to be one of her favorite things, or something that she wants to promote to the people. It really does make a difference. And that comes from her being known for good taste, known for integrity, and known for being cautious about how she uses her name.

Question: What does it say about us that one person can make such an impact?

Transcript: Well you would think actually because of so many different forms of media, so many disparate ways that people get information nowadays, that the influence of one person would actually be kind of diffused in a certain way. But for some reason Oprah has maintained that power even as people are watching less TV, and paying attention to the Internet more. Even as people are getting their entertainment in all kinds of ways, they still listen to what she says. And I think part of it may have to do with her audience. Maybe her audience is still kind of majority, you know, women that stay home during the day. And so for them, if the TV is on and Oprah’s on, she’s gonna have some influence on them. And why not? I think she uses her influence for good.

Recorded on: 1/29/08