Dr. Oz Is Running For Senate And People Are Mad At Oprah?

Maia Niguel Hoskin, Ph.D.
ZORA
Published in
4 min readDec 2, 2021

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Yes, Oprah Winfrey gave Dr. Oz a platform, but does that mean she is responsible for his actions or that she owes the Black community anything?

London, United Kingdom — March 13, 2018: Oprah Winfrey attends the European Premiere of ‘A Wrinkle In Time’ at BFI IMAX in London, England.

Yesterday, Black Twitter and others ripped Oprah Winfrey apart after Dr. Oz announced his plans to run as a Republican for an open U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Although it might seem odd that Oprah would take an “L” for the political aspirations of Dr. Oz, some people have made a clear connection between Winfrey and the selection of celebrities, writers, influencers, and on-air talent she has endorsed. Specifically citing that she has used her larger-than-life platform to promote some pretty questionable characters who tend to have a relatively conservative lean and leave a lot to be desired in the areas of credibility and contributions to the Black community. But the real question is, does Oprah owe Black folks anything? My answer: yes and no.

On Tuesday, social media blew up after news broke that Dr. Mehmet Oz decided to run as a Republican for an open Senate seat. The announcement received immediate media attention because the 61-year-old surgeon — who first came to the public’s attention as a regular guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” before starting his own long-running daytime medical advice show — has become infamous for making controversial comments about COVID-19…

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Maia Niguel Hoskin, Ph.D.
ZORA
Editor for

@zora Guest Editor, Professor, Forbes Contributor, Race Scholar, Activist, Therapist, Keynote Speaker, Consultant, Wife, Mother, & Addict of Ice Cream &Cheese.