Oprah Winfrey Angered By Criticism For Missing Johnson Funeral

John H. Johnson, the pioneering publisher of Ebony and Jet, two magazines targeted toward a black audience, died of heart failure on August 8 at the age of 87. His funeral was held a week later, on August 15, in Chicago. Many famous black celebrities such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other personalities attended the services, along with other notables such as former President Bill Clinton. But one black celebrity was noticeably absent—Chicago’s own Oprah Winfrey.

In a column published in the Chicago Defender, a daily newspaper whose readership consists primarily of black people, the Executive Editor of the Chicago Defender questioned why Winfrey didn’t see fit to attend the funeral. In his column, Executive Editor Roland Martin noted that a host of black public figures were critical of Winfrey’s "apparent snub of the man who single-handedly made it possible for people like Oprah to launch their own magazines and media companies." But Winfrey was in Hawaii when Johnson died and said that she was unable to make it back to Chicago in time to attend the funeral of the man who built a media empire centered around black people, thereby establishing himself as one of the nation’s wealthiest black businessmen in history.

A second column was published the next day recounting a tense conversation Martin had with Winfrey where she said that the allegations of her snub had incensed her. "I am furious at the allegations because it's just not true," Martin quoted Winfrey as saying in his column. "It's not true and it's unfair." She said that she had sent sympathy notes to Johnson’s family, both to his widow, Eunice, and to his daughter, and she had sent flowers to Johnson’s publishing company downtown. According to the column, Winfrey told Martin that she would be happy to send him copies of the notes and a receipt for the flowers she had sent. She also informed him that she was already making plans for a tribute show dedicated to Johnson after she returns to her regular schedule after her summer hiatus.

Evidently a week’s notice isn’t enough advance notice for a woman like Oprah to take time out of her busy vacation schedule in Hawaii to pay homage to the man who was decidedly influential in her being able to rise to the level of media stardom she has achieved. Or maybe she was still fuming over being snubbed herself by Hermes in Paris a few weeks ago. Oprah used to be considered one of the nicest, most genuine celebrities in the country. But in some circles, her star is starting to fade.