Oprah Winfrey Says She Left 60 Minutes Over Clashes With Producers: They Made Me Do ‘Seven Takes’ On My Name

Oprah Winfrey has confirmed that her time as a special contributor for 60 Minutes has come to an end.

The media maven gave an extensive interview to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Lacey Rose in which she talked about her major programming deal with Apple, her acting career, and a plethora of other topics. Asked about her 60 Minutes gig, Winfrey said that she’s parting ways with CBS, though she denied that it directly connects to the sexual misconduct scandals that forced former executive producer Jeff Fager and others out of the network.

“I’d actually gone to Jeff Fager prior to the whole CBS [blowup] and said I was going to be working with Apple,” Winfrey said. “That didn’t mean I would never do something [with 60 Minutes], but I would probably be taking all of my energies and putting them into whatever I wanted to do at Apple.”

Winfrey went on to say that working with 60 Minutes was “an interesting experience for me” and she expects to work again with some of her colleagues from there, “but it was not the best format for me.” She partially attributed this to disputes with the show producers over her presentation and her emotional investments in the stories she covered.

From THR:

“I think I did seven takes on just my name because it was “too emotional.” I go, “Is the too much emotion in the ‘Oprah’ part or the ‘Winfrey’ part?” I had a deja vu moment because I’ve actually lived through this once before when I covered a story as a young reporter [where] the family had lost their home and my boss told me that I reported it with too much emotion. I had too much emotion in the story. I thought, “OK, so you’re not supposed to be involved in the story, I get that. You’re a journalist.” But the same thing is true even with a read [at 60 Minutes]. They would say, “All right, you need to flatten out your voice, there’s too much emotion in your voice.” So I was working on pulling myself down and flattening out my personality — which, for me, is actually not such a good thing.”

Winfrey gave Gayle King her vote of confidence for sticking with CBS, saying she handled herself with “absolute perfection” during her explosive interview with R. Kelly.

The interview also touched on Winfrey’s opinions regarding the 2020 election and previous speculations about whether she would ever run for president.

Here’s one amusing portion where Winfrey keeps insisting on referring to Pete Buttigieg as “Butta.”

Winfrey: I’m studying the field. I’m reading Shortest Way Home by [Pete Buttigieg], I call him Buttabeep, Buttaboop. (Laughs.) The name’s either going to really hurt or [really help] — I think it’s going to help, actually. Just the other day, I was at Apple with Spielberg and we were in the hallway talking about, (employing a dramatic voice) “What are we going to do?” And I said, “Have you heard of this Butta guy?” He goes, “No, Butta-who?” I go, “Buttabeep, Buttaboop. Look him up.”

Lacey Rose: “Mayor Pete” feels easier.

Winfrey: I like saying “Butta.” (Laughs.) So I’m reading about him

In terms of 2020, Winfrey shook her head at one point over the idea of running, and she reflected on the aftermath of the Golden Globes speech that gave rise to public speculation about her possible entrance to politics.

[Photo via Getty Images]