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Oprah Winfrey took to social media to dispel a viral rumor that law enforcement raided her Boca Raton, Florida house Tuesday night for sex trafficking and hauled her off to jail.
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“Just got a phone call that my name is trending. And being trolled for some awful FAKE thing. It’s NOT TRUE. Haven’t been raided, or arrested,” Winfrey tweeted. “Just sanitizing and self distancing with the rest of the world. Stay safe everybody.”
Just got a phone call that my name is trending. And being trolled for some awful FAKE thing. It’s NOT TRUE. Haven’t been raided, or arrested. Just sanitizing and self distancing with the rest of the world. Stay safe everybody.??
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) March 18, 2020
On Tuesday night, Winfrey began trending on Twitter under “Oprah” and “OPRAH DID WHAT,” according to NBC News. The rumor is believed to have started in an online message forum for teenagers, reported Page Six.
Even after Winfrey posted that the rumor is false, people on Twitter still seemed content on believing the lie. Conspiracy theorists took to Twitter and ran with the rumor, even asking others to “pass it on.”
“Oprah has a phone in jail pass it on,” tweeted @idacrackhead.
“Don’t try to deny it. We know your school in Africa is used to traffic young girls. We know how you aid John of God in his rapist behavior, we know how you tried to hide, enabled and knew about Harvey Weinstein disgusting behavior. You should be put behind bars for what you did,” wrote @Lohanforfans.
“Let those kids out Oprah,” tweeted Tyler.
“Im not see her denying the accusations lol” tweeted @LibbyUGHH.
Oprah Winfrey has taken a public hit this year from some critics. The media mogul was slammed after she came to the defense of her best friend, Gayle King, over a question King asked former WNBA star Lisa Leslie about Kobe Bryant’s past rape case.
King asked the question in the days after Bryant died from a plane crash and rappers like Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent blasted both King and Winfrey on social media for what they saw as the women tarnishing the legacy of successful Black men.
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Winfrey has been down this road before. She was criticized last year for weighing in on a Michael Jackson sex abuse documentary, saying she believes and supports the alleged victims, and she initially signed on to help produce a documentary on rap mogul Russell Simmons, who has also been accused of sexual misconduct. Winfrey has since pulled her support from that project.