Way back in the day, when something aired, that was that. Aside from a rerun or two, you probably wouldn’t catch something like a daytime talk show segment again. That is, unless it was taped and digitized. Back in 2006, Oprah Winfrey herself was faced with a very difficult personal challenge that, thanks to Spencer Althouse at Buzzfeed, has seen the light of day again. The best news? Oprah herself commented on it, 12 years later.
The segment was all about chicken. There are plenty of ways to cook and prepare the popular dish, and home chefs are always looking for new ways to give it flavor.
Oprah invited Anna Ginsberg, the winner of a Pillsbury cooking competition, to The Oprah Winfrey Show in order to show off her prize-winning skills. Ginsberg’s prize was a million dollars, thus making her win even more legit. Just imagine how Ginsberg must have felt when Oprah herself wanted to taste it.
Here’s the problem. Oprah didn’t appear to be quite the fan.
After taking a bite, Oprah thought to herself a little bit and then asked Ginsberg if she added salt and pepper. When Ginsberg admitted that both popular spices were omitted from the dish, the host was in total disbelief.
Just watch and see how well Oprah tries to keep things together on set.
I often think about the time Oprah did a cooking segment with a woman whose chicken recipe won $1 million, and Oprah's jaw dropped when she tasted it and realized the lady didn't even add seasoning pic.twitter.com/rfs7PS1Jc3
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) December 9, 2018
Spencer Althouse / Twitter
“I do like it,” she says to a nervously laughing Ginsberg. Hey, it’s not like Oprah was responsible for writing that million dollar check.
Althouse’s tweet of the segment soon went viral, and fans were all about Oprah trying hard to hide her true feelings.
Shaded by Oprah on national television? This is a villain’s origin story.
— inveterate vertebrate 🇯🇲🇿🇦🇵🇸 (@llyndzei) December 9, 2018
you can literally see this woman’s soul leave her body lol pic.twitter.com/AZ2RUuJDgk
— Jade Van Kley (@BacklineNurse) December 9, 2018
Oprah chewing with her mouth open to try to catch some of the flavor 😂😂
— Aryelenicole (@Aryelenicole1) December 9, 2018
And she just had to add "it's delicious" at the end so as not to look like a mean cheerleader 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
— ayoni02 ML/DS (@ayoni02) December 9, 2018
The response was so major that Oprah herself weighed in on that magical moment.
OPRAH ACKNOWLEDGED MY CHICKEN VIDEO TWEET AND SAID MY NAME I AM LITERALLY SHAKING
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) December 13, 2018
Thank you for everything, @Oprah! You are my Mary Tyler Moore. pic.twitter.com/4gPUUyBfpi
And in true Oprah fashion, she explained things a little better.
“I don’t know whatever made you pull that tape out of the vault,” she said. “But it made me laugh.” She went on to state that she wanted every guest to have a good moment, while she stayed in her own truth. So that means, she’s not going to lie — but she’s not going to humiliate someone for the sake of entertainment.
“I was having a moment of trying to decide: Do I want her to have a great time? What is my real moment of truth? Because the truth for me was that I’m used to having salt and pepper on my chicken,” she added.
To be fair, the chicken DOES look very juicy!
So, there you go. If you ever get the opportunity to serve food to Oprah Winfrey, make sure there’s plenty of salt and pepper.
