It’s happening…
In the most dramatically advertised TV interview since 60 Minutes’ exclusive with disgraced wellness blogger Belle Gibson, the “Oprah and Tracy” interview is finally here.
Everyone knows who Oprah is, but the ‘Tracy’ in the equation refers to our very own Tracy Grimshaw. Or “Trace” as Oprah likes to say.
That’s right. Queen Oprah’s interview will air on A Current Affair tonight.
To celebrate Oprah gracing our screens once more, we’ve analysed the suspenseful clips Nine has been dropping over the past week – which range in length from 10 to 30 seconds – and here’s what we can expect.
1. Life advice.
C’mon people, it’s Oprah-fricken-Winfrey. Expect to be inspired.
2. Some uncomfortably friendly name-shortening.
It seems Nine isn’t the only one to have taken some liberties with Grimshaw’s name. Oprah herself repeatedly refers to the veteran reporter as “Trace” despite the fact they only just met.
Although it’s usually pretty weird when people use your nickname on the first meeting, if anyone can pull it off without coming across as overly stalkerish, it’s Oprah.
3. A glimpse into Oprah’s heartbreaking rags-to-riches story.
Oprah is generally fairly open with the trials of her childhood, including the fact she was sexually abused by people she trusted but went on to largely escape the damaging effects of that to become a massive, incomparable success.
“There was a part of me that always knew I was going to be okay,” she tells Tracy. “That if I could just get through the shame and embarrassment, and if my father didn’t kill me, that I would be okay.”
Touching stuff.
Here’s a preview:
4. Mentions of Gayle and Stedman.
Puh-lease, Oprah, give us an update on Gayle and Stedman. We miss them (and you).
5. Oprah saying she regretted leaving her show to start a network.
She was the queen of daytime TV, but in 2011, The Oprah Winfrey Show – the highest rating talk show in US history – came to an end after 25 seasons.
Oprah then started up her own television network and tells Tracy: “I was wrong. I was dead wrong. I have never been wronger, or more wrong, in my life.”
She’s still rolling in the dough and Oscar nominations, so it can’t have been all bad though?
6. The words “living your truth” to come out of Oprah’s mouth.
Emotion, inspiration, living your truth.
7. Oprah tells Tracy she isn’t special.
Well that’s what some clever editor would like us to think… but we assume that’s not the case when Oprah says: “The problem with you, Baby Doll, is you think you’re special.” It’s more likely Oprah is recounting some shitty feedback she got from an idiot back in the day. But, now Oprah can sit back and laugh at the fact she is roughly a gazillion times richer than that idiot. Ha.
8. Oprah reminding us her journey to superstardom wasn’t all smooth-sailing.
Yes, sadly, even Queen Oprah put up with sexual harassment for the sake of her career.
“I was sexually harassed, but I knew if I did anything about it or said anything about it, I would never work in television again,” the influential philanthropist and media mogul reveals.
9. Oprah gives Tracy a free car.
OK, well there’s nothing to indicate this in the promos, but, based on Oprah’s track record, the chances of a free vehicle are relatively high.
See the interview at 7pm tonight on Nine’s A Current Affair.