Oprah Sheds Weight: $117 Million Worth

Oprah Winfrey became famous for being a talk show host. Actually Oprah became famous for being a fat person, who was a talk show host.

Oprah came along during a time when the public wanted somebody more “real” to represent them. Political correctness was in full swing, so a fat black woman was just what the public needed.

Oprah’s shows were no better than the others in her genre at the time. It’s when Oprah lost weight that people noticed her. She inspired many women that if a fat black woman could do it, so could they.

America noted the “success” story of Oprah losing weight. This is because Americans are fascinated with things like this. They see weight loss as an achievement. Because most Americans are fat, dumb, and happy.

Oprah yo-yo’d multiple times in losing weight. Too many times for  me to remember. You finally built a show format that distanced her from others. Oprah produced a quality show, for the most part. Then she became too big. She influenced the election with her partisan politics. The show was no longer about letting the audience decide, but more about swaying the audience.

Nobody told Oprah, but her audience secretly turned on her.

Oprah lost big money leaving “white” TV and striking it out on her own, pardon the pun. Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) lost big money, and likely still is losing. But more than that, the Oprah “brand” just doesn’t have it anymore.

According to USA Today,

Oprah Winfrey’s halo effect on Weight Watchers(WTW) is disappearing fast.

The media mogul and 10% owner of Weight Watchers has seen $117 million in wealth vanish as shares of the company have crashed 66% from their high notched November 2015 on enthusiasm over her involvement with the company. Shares of Weight Watchers are down another 68 cents, or 6.6%, to $9.68 Tuesday after the company said it is replacing its CEO. The value of the company has dropped $1.2 billion in value since the peak hit after Winfrey came on board.

Reality is setting now as things haven’t worked out as many investors hoped after Winfrey formed close professional ties with the company in October 2015. The stock is still above the $6.79 a share it traded for before Winfrey took her stake and became the third largest investor. But the level of enthusiasm is proving in hindsight to have been overdone. The company’s revenue during the just completed second-quarter of $309.8 million is flat with a year ago, although profit is up 9.3%. The company lost $10.8 million in the first quarter.

Oprah’s weight won’t bail her out anymore. The audience has been to that rodeo, and now they expect talent to carry the load.

 

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