Oprah: "The Best Interviewer Ever"
On Sunday night, Oprah was celebrated at the 33rd Kennedy Center Honors along with Sir Paul McCartney, Merle Haggard, Bill T. Jones and Jerry Herman. The Kennedy Center Honors celebrates five individuals in the entertainment field who have enriched the “cultural vibrancy of our nation and the world” and is considered a prestigious award in the world of arts.
Oprah, who brought boyfriend Stedman Graham and BFF Gayle King, said: “It feels like an elevated kind of award and there aren’t many in this category. They look at your work, your life work, who you are as a human being and the spirit of who you are,” reported the Washington Post.
The event was start studded: Chris Rock, Julia Roberts and of course, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama were present. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement the night before: “I want to underscore why this event was worth flying very far to get back for.” She then told a story about a Saudi woman who called Oprah “the only person in the world who knows how I feel.”
The media mogul was presented the award for her nearly 25 years in television, adding up to more than 4,400 shows. During the ceremony, Barbara Walters said of Oprah: “She is the best interviewer ever. No one else comes close, not even me. And those of you who know me know how painful it was to say that.”
The made-for-TV ceremony will air on CBS on Dec. 28.
Next on Oprah’s plate? The Oprah Winfrey Show will travel throughout Australia this month to film three episodes that will air early 2011.
Though the Oprah Winfrey Show is in its last season, she is about to begin her own network which will be called the Oprah Winfrey (OWN). When describing goals for the project, Oprah said “What if I could take every hero who inspired me; every lesson that motivated me, every opportunity that was ever given to me; and give it to you?,” she told the Daily Mail.
We can’t wait to see what happens next…