Oprah gets backlash over India dinner remarks

theGRIO REPORT - Oprah Winfrey visited India in April and was a guest at the home of an upper middle class family in Mumbai...

simioju

Jul 25, 2012

Oprah Winfrey visited India in April and was a guest at the home of an upper middle class family in Mumbai. There, Oprah had what she called, her “first traditional Indian meal.” The release of the two part episode has not been viewed in a kind light by Indians in India. In fact, she was given a thumbs down. Many criticized that Oprah showed a stereotypical image of the country.

The biggest tiff with viewers of the episode is when Oprah asks, “I hear people in India eat with their hands still?” The response from the host, in good form was, “Still? No. Also us. All of us… All Indians eat with their hands.”

Oprah’s comment has been regarded as “myopic, unaware, ignorant and gauche“.

Rituparna Chatterjee of the CNN-IBN news channel wrote “Using our hands to eat is a well-established tradition and a fact none of us are ashamed of…As a responsible public figure about to air a show that will be beamed across the world, you should have done your homework.”

And that is the crux of the issue that many Indians have with the TV mogul. A seemingly innocent trip meant to “explore India,” Winfrey seems to have insulted India, by failing to research the cultures and customs. Actress and TV host Maria Goretti tweeted: ‘It’s so sad…that someone as inspirational as [Oprah] did not get the pulse of India.”

A spokeswoman for Harpo, the company that produces Oprah’s Next Chapter, said in a statement, “The intention of the program was to explore the beautiful culture and spirit of the country. We enjoyed the time we spent there and were touched by the people who so generously shared their stories for the show.”

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