Here’s why Oprah regrets that famous “wagon of fat” episode
A new podcast is taking fans of The Oprah Winfrey Show behind the scenes for the show’s 30th anniversary, and making some very interesting revelations. In a recent episode of Making Oprah, the three-part podcast, Oprah reveals that she regrets making her “wagon of fat” episode, which just happens to be the show’s most highly-ratedever.
On the “wagon of fat” installment — which aired in 1988 — Oprah proudly showed off her new figure after losing 67 pounds on a liquid-only diet. To demonstrate just how much weight she’d lost, she wheeled out a wagon containing 67 pounds of animal fat (she got it from a Chicago barbecue joint called Moo & Oink).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoVmIyzNn-8?feature=oembed
Looking back, though, Oprah says the wagon of fat was a mistake and calls the episode “hard to watch.”
"You can see that my ego is on flamboyant display," she told Making Oprah. "I've had to pay the price for that moment over and over. I literally handed to the world on a fat wagon platter the story of 'Is She Fat?' 'Is She Thin?'"
This isn’t the first time Oprah has spoken out about the now-infamous episode. In 2011 she called it a “big, big, big, big, big, big, big mistake!” and said, “When I look at that show, I think it was one of the biggest ego trips of my life.”
Oprah certainly seems confident in the episode, talking about the near-starvation diet that led to her weight loss and encouraging her viewers to pursue diets — under physician guidance — that might help them feel their best and live their best lives.
However, the media mogul has since abandoned restrictive diets that helped her lose weight temporarily, only to gain it back, and says she’s found success on Weight Watchers, which helps you to eat well and keep track of your daily food intake using a points system.
Oprah has inspired so many people to make positive changes in their lives — from life-changing decisions to smaller changes like reading more — so we’re always glad to see her thinking critically about the choices she’s made in the past. And we’re always cheering her on!
