[Applause]
okay and our time is up we'll be right
back thank you that you ever get used to
the amount of joy you see on people's
faces when you walk by cuz even in the
building Oprah this is the craziest
thing that's ever happened to me let me
tell you now we're backstage I'm getting
my makeup done we're walking then Oprah
just walk she doesn't come through like
the celebrity answer is no just walk
through the building just greeting her
but surely you realize that you're
closing house everywhere you go no
actually I love these moments I this
happens to me quite often I'll run into
someone who says oh my god you don't
know you don't know what this means and
I said yeah I do you came home from
school your mom wasn't there you hear
latchkey kid you watch me for clogs so I
raised you right so I feel like I feel
rewarded by that I feel like I think I
did a good lot of good job raising I
knew it was time to leave the show when
people who had come to the show then
they had children and their children
were now having children so it's time to
go you know you say that but I honestly
wonder if you didn't leave too soon
here's what I say this you left the show
but it feels like we never got tired of
Oprah I mean we now are watching you on
super soul Sunday is we're not Oprah do
you think you just needed a break you
know what I do wish that there the only
time I actually really missed miss
missed it was 2016 because I thought for
sure that speaking to the audience
everything because this is what I miss
the most right miss having a discourse
with the audience
and because every day after the show
it's been time with the audience because
for years I signed autographs and then I
thought one day I didn't and I had so
much more energy what I really want to
do I want to talk to the audience so the
audience
ten years in became my biggest focus
grow while yes and so we were talking
talk it off so I would not have been
surprised by the election or anything
because I would have been talking to
people from all say you were doesn't in
touch with I was really and it would
have been my direct connection and so
that's what I missed that it feels like
that's the story of your life is you
love to be in an environment where you
are in touch with human beings that's
what this book feels like it's about the
path made care discovering your life's
direction and purpose you seem like
someone who's always had your path like
nailed down pretty clear
yeah pretty clear like where do you
think you got that from and why do you
think this book will help people do the
same just like you being raised first of
all I love your book so much and being
raised by a strong grandmother you
taught me to read but what I learned to
read was the Bible and grew up you know
in kindergarten when I went to
kindergarten you know the story the one
I went to kindergarten no I had been in
Mississippi which was an apartheid state
right right right
and so when I moved to Milwaukee and had
just started kindergarten I walked in
and all these little white kids were
doing their ABCs and I said I know some
big words and I wrote them all down to
my kindergarten teacher a while I
dragged me Shack have been to go and I
got myself out of kindergarten the first
day that is an area yes
so being grounded in something that I
knew was bigger than myself yes is is is
set the course for me to understand that
there's always something greater than
you and that no matter what you are
going to be alright so that should be
your mantra look at wherever you come
from
are always working out for you and when
you have faith you know that things
always will the book really feels like a
conversation with the reader that does
exactly that it talks to you about the
journeys and the steps that you can take
in life to get you where you need to be
what I enjoy is you speak to people who
are inspiring all walks of life yes and
what about my favorite thing did that's
what I've noticed you being inspired by
people but your Oprah but you offer them
no but why did you choose these people
in the book to inspire us with their
story because they're all people that
I've been talking to over the years
right so Sunday and masterclasses you
you're on page 169 I am yes you are so
there are people who have inspired me
because at this stage in my life I only
talked to who I want to talk to okay and
so to be to be surrounded by people and
this is a truth whether you have a talk
show or not whatever you're doing in
your life
you need to surround yourself with
people who are going to stimulate
inspire and lift you up who are gonna
give you energy and not take energy away
from you and if you're around people who
are taking energy away from you that's
an energy drain and that is the sign
from your instinct your inner voice your
intuition to say let them go when you
look at successful people you have
talked to everyone in the world who is
successful what would you say is the one
common characteristic that you find gets
people to where they want to go the the
most important question is the people
get to where they want to go because
they know where they want to go oh wow
most people don't know where they want
to go most people a lot of people are
going and being driven by what they
think they should do right what other
people say they should do what they have
carried in their mind for a long time
they should do but the most important
question you can ever ask yourself is
what do I really want Wow and the answer
to that once you can establish for
yourself what the answer to that is and
have everything you do every choice you
make move you in the direction of what
you say your vision is right yeah and
when you do that the the forces of life
rise up to meet you the reason why
people have such chaotic lives is
because they're living in chaos in their
head and as soon as you get clear it
clears up you you you have clears up did
this book because you know I have all
these wonderful girls from South Africa
who love you yes yes a boy Oprah he's on
the road could you get us some to give
you context here's the thing so twelve
years ago you started the Oprah Winfrey
Leadership Academy in South Africa which
is honestly one of the most amazing
institutions because it goes beyond just
a school yes it's it's an idea yes you
you you you've gotten girls in a country
wig for so long no it really is it's an
idea where you've said to these young
black girls who are powerful and
empowered to be like hey be the best you
can be yeah and you are creating leaders
yeah but what you found and you speak
about this is that there was a pressure
that came with that where they went I
went to Oprah's school which is I have
to be everything yeah but you only have
to be yourself because there's nobody
else in the world who's quite like you
and what your real job is to do is to
fit come to the world and understand
that your job is to figure out what it
is you have to offer right like what you
do every night looks like a talk show
but what you're offering us is relief
what you're offering us is a way to see
ourselves differently what you're
offering us is humor but what you're
offering us is a way in to see our
culture and that is what you do and so
it's bigger than a talk show it's bigger
than just this moment with you and I
sitting in the chair Wow because what
you are broadcasting to the world is
this sort of essence of yourself you
know your purpose is greater than than
this moment in this chair was know that
was there ever a moment where you maybe
had the wrong idea of what your purpose
would be I know you speak a little bit
about in the book but was there ever a
moment where you failed and you're glad
that you failed because it put you on
the path that you were meant to be on
well you know we were just talking about
this during the commercial break it was
actually a show that I was doing with
skinheads and you know white supremacist
where I thought I was showing the world
their vitriol right letting world see
that and I recognized they were actually
using me they were using that platform
because I at the time did not understand
how powerful the platform was Wow so
when I figured that out I literally said
I'm only going to use my work
this platform as a force for good yes I
will cause no harm when you would
demoted from the news division oh yeah
that's that's an interesting moment
because you know in life there ways go
you know fail and then try again and try
again and try again but this is this is
an interesting one because you you
technically failed at the news division
you would demote it to the talk show but
the talk show ended up being the
greatest promotion area was on the talk
show which was like the Carvel ice cream
man okay there's not like a big guess
yes it's a Carvel ice cream and in his
multi flavors okay but I had been
demoted from the news because I was too
emotional I would get too engaged in the
stories I was I was too emotional and I
was always getting written up for being
too emotional with the stories and so
had I not been demoted I probably would
have for a long time continued on that
path because my father was like they
paying you $25,000 you better keep that
job so I would have stayed for all the
wrong reasons
instead of taking what looked like a
failure in the moment and being demoted
right in the moment I sat down on my
first talk show I thought I have come
home to myself and that's what everybody
is looking for the path that allows you
to come home to yourself I feel like I
feel like you're creating that for
others now because now we're seeing
Oprah Winfrey the executive producer
we're seeing the own network we're
seeing your work with creates as David
Oyelowo was on the show they talked
about his first opportunity to direct
when you are creating and when you are
helping others to create you you you
have to take a different position
because it's not for you or somebody
else you know but the one most wonderful
thing I think that everybody and
especially if you've been able to be
blessed and achieved as much as I have
the great reward and joy comes from
being able to lift other people up right
to look back or reach back and lift
other people to the highest level of
themselves because that's really what
we're all looking for right it's what I
say in here that the reason why there is
common ground for all of us is because
you want the same thing I want and even
in my position in life I'm still
reaching for what is the truest highest
expression of myself as a human being
Wow that's the path you're looking
for and when you know that that's what
we're all looking for so my job is I
think I've found that and I continue to
find it by helping other people to find
that for themselves one of the ways
you're doing that is by creating a
docu-series with Prince Harry Oh wave
about mental you can't peel back the
curtain one of the things you're doing
is talking about mental health and I
love how you you've called it mental
fitness because that's how we need to
think of it as people are we healthy in
our minds you're working with Prince
Harry which is really exciting I'm going
what is it like to work with royalty for
him he is a great partner and I want
everybody to know that first of all I
don't do or engage in anything unless
I'm giving 100% he feels the same and so
he is a great partner in helping us
decide what who were gonna interview how
it's gonna be interviewed what subjects
we're gonna be covering I've had you
know meetings with him we've sat down
with our team and we're working together
with on this as a real partnership it's
ready yeah it's genuinely exciting I
mean everything everything you do blows
up everything well you know what was so
important to me this is why I'm so
important to me because I have a girls
school and you know these girls come
from provinces all South Africa when
you're dealing with people who come from
lots of trauma those that trauma shows
itself in later life as depression
sometimes as anxiety sometimes as mental
health issues and there was a time where
I had five girls in the hospital at the
same time Wow with depression suicidal
ideation all kinds of things so I became
interested in the subject of mental
health because I spent too many times in
a psych ward and because I recognized
that the the impact of poverty and the
impact of trauma in poverty really
causes people to carry that into their
lives unless it is processed and unless
they can come forward in a way that
releases it so for me doing this mental
health series is a way of releasing the
shame helping people to release the
shame and the
stinger stigma for themselves because
there's almost nobody you know that
doesn't have somebody in their family
who's going through some kind of
difficulty when you speak about trauma
is that one of the reasons you were so
drawn to the Michael Jackson documentary
because I noticed when you were when you
were speaking about that it felt
personal to you it felt visceral but you
got a lot of hate for so much hateration
I haven't had that much a duration since
I did the puppy episode with Ellen so
serious yes and you know what I was I
was saying this the other day that I'm
so glad that when I did the puppy up
episode for Ellen where Ellen came out
and people just we had to take people
off the switchboard because there's so
much hateration go Wow as that was
before there was a tweet tweets in
social media but I imagine had that
happened now it's imagine if that had
happened Matt right you had social media
so I had a lot of hateration but I also
when I first saw that a documentary I
realized that a lot of people are gonna
get triggered are going to be triggered
by watching it yes and that a lot of
people will not understand what the
pattern is because I had done 217 shows
trying to get people to understand that
it's not about one person that it is
about the pattern it is about the
seduction and people call it a
molestation but there is a big seducing
that goes on right and the pattern of
that seducing and that was important
enough for me to take the hateration for
did you ever waver in your beliefs when
the documentary airing everything out
and said there was a timeline issue
microwave the train station no I have
not wavered because I've had girls at my
school who were sexually assaulted and
abused and I have never won a case and
the reason I have never won a case is
because when you put a girl on the
witness stand and she can't remember was
it Thursday or Wednesday the the it's
automatically discredited and so when
you're in the midst of trauma something
terrible things happening to you you may
not remember the exact time it's why it
like if I hear her noise or something in
my house I like look at the time because
they're going to ask what time so if you
can't remember the day and the time and
the dadadada
everybody's like well okay I guess it
never happened yes it never happened oh
it was I said it was at hotel but it was
at Ulta oh it probably never happened so
I've been through that so know before I
let you go one last question that I have
to ask that you've answered many times
but I never know if the answer will
change is Oprah Winfrey running for
president
why would you say they don't even want
that to happen you know Gail my dearest
friend is I thought she was actually
serious like I think you should do it
you should do it for the country I said
you don't want that to happen because I
have such a beautiful life I have such a
beautiful life why would I want to put
myself in that right
such a beautiful right right I had such
a beautiful life I know my path and my
path isn't that but whenever I decide
whoever I want to support I will get
behind that person the pop media is
available now
Oprah win for everybody
[Music]
you