Oprah Winfrey responded to online backlash against her fundraising efforts for the victims of the fire in Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii, saying, “It made me sad that we’re at this state in our country.”
Ms. Winfrey, a billionaire media mogul, and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced the People’s Fund of Maui in an Instagram post on Aug. 31, promising to give $1,200 monthly directly to Lahaina residents. Both Ms. Winfrey and Mr. Johnson each committed to donate $5 million of their own money.
The campaign asked viewers on social media to give.
It was that ask that incensed the virtual public, with a slew of online critics asking why Ms. Winfrey didn’t just give more of her own money as opposed to soliciting donations from people much poorer than herself. Ms. Winfrey’s net worth is $2.8 billion, according to Forbes.
One poster on X, formerly known as Twitter, @RealCalvinX, wrote, “Oprah is a billionaire. She should save Maui instead of begging other people to foot the bill. The ego of these people.”
TikTok user @pocaspeakss was more demonstrative, saying in an expletive-laced video missive that “Ain’t no [expletive] way you came on this [expletive] internet and propped your lips up to ask the 99% for money when you are of the 1% that has it all. … I know y’all be playing in our faces. Because ain’t no way a billionaire parted her lips to ask me for an [expletive] thing.”
In a Tuesday episode of “CBS Mornings,” co-hosted by editor-at-large of the Oprah Daily magazine and long-time friend of Ms. Winfrey Gayle King, Ms. Winfrey addressed the backlash.
Ms. Winfrey also noted that Ms. King’s son had sparked the entire endeavor by sending her an article about a similar initiative undertaken by country star Dolly Parton after fires in her hometown of Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 2017.
“I was so excited and I got up the next morning and I saw all of this vitriol and I was like, ‘Whoa, what happened here?’” Ms. Winfrey said, adding that a $10 million commitment is a “good night” for typical fundraising events.
Ms. Winfrey also described her critics as having “terrorized and vilified” her through their “attacks, lies and conspiracy theories.”
“It made me sad that we’re at this state in our country,” Ms. Winfrey said.
As of Tuesday, 2,200 people had been verified to receive money from the People’s Fund of Maui.
Her interview did not deter critics, however, some of whom saw the piece as her playing the victim.
“They are giving Oprah more air time playing the victim than the real victims. SAD!” @nickeltong wrote on X regarding the “CBS Mornings” interview.
Regarding speculation that Ms. Winfrey had bought her land on Maui on the cheap and had hired private security to keep people away, a spokesperson for Ms. Winfrey explained that the land was not suitable for building.
“The land is not undervalued; it is an unbuildable area with no water rights. The land is dedicated to open space and to planting trees to help restore the watershed. … the lands have been traditionally used for grazing and has a lack of water. … It’s very steep land, high elevation without roads,” the spokesperson told Newsweek.
The Los Angeles Times said Mr. Johnson hasn’t addressed the campaign backlash.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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