Media mogul Oprah Winfrey appeared at the Cannes Lions International festival, where he reflected on his decades-long career as a media personality. During the chat, the star shared tidbits from her life on the film sets while urging new media personalities to show restraint and compassion.
Oprah: in his time with: Whitney Houston
Speaking with Cannes Lions chairman Phil Thomas, Winfrey discussed philanthropy, her journey to becoming one of the most influential self-made figures and more. Emphasizing the responsibility of being influential, Winfrey revisited one of her most memorable interviews with Whitney Houston on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Recalling the trust they built before filming, he said, “We did the whole, ‘Hey girl, how are you?’ greeting thing and then I stopped the cameras and I went behind the stage and I said, ‘So tell me, what do you want to happen here? And I’ll tell you what I want to happen here.And that was one of the most powerful interviews. “
Oprah remembers Whitney Houston falling on stage
He revealed that Houston later returned to the show for a performance once he was back. “I have such confidence from ‘The Oprah Show’ audience… I think it is [Houston’s] last show with us, and he’s back on drugs,” Winfrey said.“The first interview I did with him when we went backstage and I asked him about his intentions, he was clean, but the day he came to my show then to perform in front of the audience, he wasn’t there, and he fell on the stage.”
Oprah ‘asked’ the audience not to spill details of Whitney Houston to the media
The television host recalled ‘begging’ his listeners not to reveal the incident to the media. He said, “I knew that if that story came out…he would be devastated by that. And so even though the viewers were there and the audience had cameras, I begged them not to put the pictures up because it would ruin his life, and they didn’t.”Reflecting on how much the media landscape has changed since then, Winfrey added, “That wouldn’t happen today, I can tell you that.”Houston, died in February 2012 at the age of 48. His death was ruled an accidental drowning.