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Oprah Winfrey vividly remembers being body-shamed by Joan Rivers during her appearance on “The Tonight Show” in 1985.
“Joan Rivers turns to me and she says, ‘Tell me, why are you so fat?’” the former “Oprah Winfrey Show” host recalled in Monday’s episode of the “Jamie Kern Lima Show” podcast.
Winfrey, 70, could not believe that the late comedian had just called out her weight “on national television” and did not know how to handle the situation.
“I just [said], like, ‘Oh, I just love potato chips, Joan,’” she remembered, to which Rivers said, “Shame on you.”
“Joan Rivers turns to me and she says ‘Tell me, why are you so fat?’” Winfrey said on “The Jamie Kern Lima Show.” Jamie Kern Lima/YouTube She was floored when Rivers asked her about her weight on national television. Jamie Kern Lima/YouTubeIn the moment, the “A Wrinkle in Time” star agreed with the “Fashion Police” host, who coldly joked she would let her return to the show on one condition.
‘“I’ll let you come back if you lose 15 pounds. You need to lose 15 pounds,’” Winfrey said Rivers replied.
“And I accept it. I accept that I should be shamed because how dare me be sitting up here on ‘The Tonight Show,’” the media mogul added.
“I just [said], like, ’Oh, I just love potato chips, Joan,’” Winfrey recalled. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Rivers told her guest, “Shame on you” for being overweight. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Winfrey also said the comedian told her, “I’ll let you come back if you lose 15 pounds.” NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesWinfrey recalled assuring Rivers, who died in 2014, that she would lose 15 pounds — but that “of course” she “didn’t.”
“I went and ate my way to another 10 pounds,” she said.
The Daytime Emmy winner ended up going to a health retreat in an attempt to slim down, but the decision almost jeopardized her role in the 1985 film “The Color Purple.”
The “Oprah Winfrey Show” host said she agreed with Rivers’ cruel words at the time. Getty Images “I accept that I should be shamed because how dare me be sitting up here on ‘The Tonight Show,'” she added. WireImageSteven Spielberg, the director of the movie, called Winfrey and told her, “‘I hear you’re at a fat farm. You lose a pound, you could lose this part,’” according to her recollection.
In that moment, the actress gave up on getting the role.
“The instant I let it go was the greatest life lesson I have ever received, because I physically felt the release,” she shared.
Winfrey said she ultimately ended up going on a health retreat in an attempt to slim down. Getty Images The media mogul nearly lost her role in “The Color Purple” because of her weight. Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesWant more celebrity and pop culture news?
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Winfrey went on to land the part of Sofia anyway, which earned her an Academy Award nomination.
“That became my grounding teaching for the rest of my life and career,” she said. “Do everything you can, work as hard as you can, and then let it go.”
The famed talk show host is known for her yo-yo dieting and constant weight fluctuation throughout her storied career. She sat on the board of WeightWatchers for nearly 10 years but left her position in February after admitting to using a weight-loss drug to slim down.
Winfrey has since slimmed down after using a weight-loss drug. Jamie Kern Lima/YouTube She left her role on the WeightWatchers board earlier this year. Jamie Kern Lima/YouTube“I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing,” she told People at the time.
“The fact that there’s a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for.”
These days, Winfrey has been showing off her newly svelte figure and focusing on self-love. She also apologized for her contribution to the toxicity of diet culture.
