Oprah Winfrey has inspired generations of tv journalists of all walks of life, but one budding entertainer turned on air host is ruffling feathers with how she sees herself stepping into the icon’s footsteps. Rapper Yung Miami who’s YouTube series, Caresha Please keeps Black twitter talking, is making headlines yet again. This time, for a recent XXL Magazine interview where she unpacks her goals for the show’s future, which as we find out, are a bit confusing.
“I want to take it to the next level,” Miami told the publication. “I want to be like—I think she has a podcast now—a person like Wendy Williams. I’m dreaming big. I want to go to the highest of the highest. I want to be the Black Oprah.”
Excuse me?
Obviously, some heads were being scratched following this statement as Oprah is already, well, Black. Right?
“Hmm since when is Oprah white?” author/theologian Ekemini Uwan questioned on Twitter.
“I wish Oprah would just get on here and tweet ‘Last Time that I Checc’d’ and just completely end this Yung Miami black stuff,” artist Wallace Bee tweeted.
Others, while still perplexed, seemingly caught the subtle shade in the messaging.
One commenter, @EscaflowneClown wrote of the legendary talk show host/entrepreneur’s impact: “Oprah Winfrey was able to reach the world without the age of the internet. Saying ‘I want to be the Black Oprah’ makes no sense to me. it’s not the statement y’all think it is TBH and undermines her reach within Black communities.”
The shade being analyzed here could possibly be the fact that because of Winfrey’s status and stature, many Black folks have expressed over the years that they don’t find her to be relatable. Furthermore, Winfrey has also caught backlash from the Black community for “trying to tear down” Black men with her support of projects such as “Leaving Neverland” the documentary about Michael Jackson’s alleged (yet unproven) abuse of children. But does that strip away her Blackness?
Some people have come to the defense of Miami, including a few celebrity friends.
Fellow rapper Kash Doll took to Twitter to write: “Caresha please is really funny as hell. She’s def the next black Oprah.”
Miami, never concerned about the naysayers, doubled down on her statement by later tweeting: “The next ((((BLACK)))) OPRAH!!”
I guess she said what she said. What are your thoughts?