Oprah Tells BBC: Many Americans ‘Disrespect’ Obama Because He’s Black

Oprah Winfrey spoke out about race and discrimination during an interview with BBC Friday, as she toured the UK to promote her recent film Lee Daniels’ The Butler. Asked if the treatment President Barack Obama has received could be due to the fact that he’s African-American, Winfrey answered affirmatively.

At first Winfrey said the notion has probably “crossed her mind” as many times as it’s crossed her interviewer Will Gompertz’s mind. She then corrected herself, saying, “Probably it’s crossed my mind more than it’s crossed your mind.”

“Just the level of disrespect,” Winfrey continued, citing Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You lie!” outburst at the 2009 State of the Union as one example. “Yeah, I think there’s a level of disrespect for the office that occurs. And that occurs in some cases, and maybe even many cases, because he’s African-American.”

Watch video below, via BBC:

[photo via screengrab]

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