Oprah Winfrey says she was shocked by the “vitriol” online in response to her call for the public to donate money for victims of the Maui wildfires.
“I was so excited about it, and then I woke up the next morning, and I saw all this vitriol, and I was like, ‘Whoa, what happened here?'” Winfrey said in an interview with CBS Mornings.
“It made me sad that we are in this state in our country.”
Watch Oprah shares her disappointment below:
Winfrey also suggested she faced “a wave of terror and slander online” when she urged the public to donate money to help victims of the Maui wildfires.
“Everything that’s going on online, you know, the attacks, the lies, the conspiracy theories, has really distracted from what was the most important thing, which was the people of Maui,” Winfrey insisted. .
The billionaire explained that she and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson were inspired by country star Dolly Parton, who in 2017 organized a fund to help victims of the wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
“We thought – because we’ve both given to charity our whole lives – starting the fund with $10 million would be a great idea, because any of us who have ever benefited, you know, goes to a benefit and someone donates $10 million, that’s what you call a good night,” Winfrey said.
“So, we thought, $10 million, we start by having fun, we’ll do what Dolly did, get other people to donate money, and then we’ll put it straight into people’s bank accounts “, she continued. “I was so excited about it, and then I woke up the next morning, and I saw all this vitriol, and I was like, ‘Whoa, what happened here?'”
“It made me sad that we are in this state in our country,” Winfrey concluded.
A film crew that accompanied Oprah Winfrey during her visit to a shelter for Maui wildfire evacuees was reportedly turned away due to a no-media policy. https://t.co/yx7IUylmfS
– Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) August 15, 2023
Winfrey and Johnson had launched a $10 million fund for Maui residents, then urged the public to fund the rest — a move that both faced backlash as fans pointed out they had made a joint donation of only $10 million, which was quite a bit. fraction of their enormous wealth.
Winfrey has an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion and Johnson has an estimated net worth of $800 million.
“I would but I’m broke…but you two have this!” one social media user wrote in reaction to Winfrey and Johnson’s request to donate money to the public.
“A billionaire asks the poor for money, what a joke,” commented another.
Oprah Winfrey, left, holds hands with Luz Vargas, center, and Estrella Lopez, right, at a distribution and relief site at Honokowai Beach Park on Sunday, August 13, 2023 in Honokowai, HI. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“This should be a private message between you and your billionaire friends,” another advised. “It’s so outrageous that you’re asking for money.”
“How does the richest woman in the world ask for money?” » asked another. “Make sense of this.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangeloand on Instagram.
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