THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW
During yesterday’s Oprah Winfrey Show, Sarah Palin mistakenly called Levi Johnston’s upcoming Playgirl spread “porn,” a claim that Oprah immediately corrected for her television audience. There was a slight smirk and glint in the host’s eye as she said the four-letter word; a reaction that hinted that today’s “Porn and Erotica”-themed episode might be a carousing raunch-fest —Oprah Gone Naughty. And when today’s show opened with a warning that the following material might not be appropriate for children (note: there was no such warning before the show about the woman whose face was chewed off by a chimp), it seemed that Oprah might finally be finding her freak.
Unfortunately for those viewers hoping for some spice before picking up the kids from strip mall Karate practice, Oprah seemed completely out of her element when discussing sex, porn or erotic pleasure. So much so that she enlisted special correspondent Lisa Ling to do the footwork. With Oprah’s cameras, Ling visited a porn production where the stone-faced reporter killed any looseness on set by asking the female star, “So you’re about to have sex with someone in about ten minutes. Do you know him?”
The referenced scene was then shown on air, with about 40% of the screen blurred out, as Ling sat by, looking as though she had just witnessed a mass suicide. Next, Oprah welcomed Jenna Jameson, the porn star-turned-entrepreneur and best-selling author, to the stage. Despite Jameson’s comfort discussing the growing number of women in the industry, Oprah was visibly ill at ease and unsure of whether to use the phrase “make love” or “have sex” when describing porn.
Jenna eagerly shared that mostly women accost her on the street, thanking her for the careful sexual instructions she included in her How to Make Love Like a Porn Star: A Cautionary Tale. The host nodded, unsure of how to react, and followed by asking her how many sexual partners Jameson had. (Jameson skirted around the answer.)
Finally, Oprah threw to sex and erotica expert Violet Blue to finish off the dirty talk. Oprah’s mouthpiece spent five minutes explaining everything Oprah could not bring herself to say on air, revealing that the reason why Jenna Jameson’s most recent porn is so popular with women is because she co-starred with her husband at the time. Apparently, female viewers can sense that real life passion and want that for themselves. Occasionally, producers cut to a reaction shot of Oprah looking unconvinced. Then the segment ended…
Oprah: Violet, why do you think erotica is such a good tool for women?
Violet: Well, erotica can be as effective as a vibrator.
The host’s eyes widen.
Oprah: I never thought about it that way.


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Posted 17 Nov 2009, 3:40 PM
Note to Steadman/Gayle: You might want to pick up a bag of flour on the way home. Someone is gonna get the Aunt Jemima Treatment tonight.
Posted 17 Nov 2009, 3:40 PM
I have something so funny to say here but maybe it is best if we all just wait for Old No. 7 so he can win commenter of the week.
Posted 17 Nov 2009, 3:46 PM
Damn, he beat me to it! And managed to be both sexist and racist in under 140 characters or less!
Posted 17 Nov 2009, 3:52 PM
I'm not being racist, I was referring to the line out of Stripes.
This is a movie website, you know.
Posted 17 Nov 2009, 4:02 PM
hahaha this looks delightfully awkward. I guess the big O isn't all that in touch with her sexuality? I have to watch the whole thing.
Posted 17 Nov 2009, 4:03 PM
Spam alert.
Posted 18 Nov 2009, 6:35 AM
The Oprah Show did not even begin to explore this topic. But what it seemingly did was show a hostess who was a bit uncomfortable discussing it and possibly even giving a slap on the wrist to those of us who write erotica/erotic romance and a big eyebrow raise to women who read our work. Wake up and smell the coffee, Oprah.
Posted 18 Nov 2009, 6:48 AM
Makes you wonder if all those tabloid reports of Steadman being gay or leaving her are true if she's that uncomfortable with the subject of sex. I was always comfortable in my skin talking about sexuality and any of my past exploits, long before I began to write erotica for the public. And for the record... even if you're making love... it's STILL sex!
Posted 18 Nov 2009, 7:12 AM
@Lex Valentine
"It's STILL sex if you're making love." WOW! What a concept. LOL Guess
Oprah doesn't get that.
Posted 18 Nov 2009, 8:43 AM
...the other kind is called SPORT SEX...
just don't show bad form and at the climax part yell
G-G-G-G-GOAL!!!!!!
Posted 18 Nov 2009, 10:25 AM
There is a HUGE difference between PORN and Erotica and if Oprah or her people had a clue, that distinction would have been made. But it wasn't and judging by the crap on her web site today, they are only out to make it worse.
Posted 20 Nov 2009, 9:18 AM
CH,
They did discuss the difference between porn and erotica, but you'd only know that if you actually watched the show, which you clearly did not.
Posted 18 Nov 2009, 5:24 PM
First off let me admit that I did not have the oportunity to watch the interview as a whole, some of us do have to work, funny how that happens in life, huh? But it seamed to my husband and I that Jenna was trying to make points and Opra was trying to bash her and the industry!
Posted 19 Nov 2009, 5:14 PM
Oprah is evil. Death to Oprah!
Posted 19 Nov 2009, 6:37 PM
LOL, as usual Operah is way too full of herself! LOL
RT
www.ultimate-privacy.br.tc
Posted 20 Nov 2009, 7:28 AM
I saw this and thought the exact same thing.
Oprah acted prudish as if her whole audiance was made up of catholic nuns! ridiculous...
I get that Oprah is 'hard hitting' or whatever but there was no reason to treat the gorgeous Jenna Jameson like a fucking member of the Manson clan... This interview eeassilly could have been a relaxed, upfront discussion of the industry but what I saw was Oprah rip open her life to put on display for the sheltered American housewives to gawk at.
Posted 20 Nov 2009, 3:49 PM
Mama's don't let you babies grow up to be porn stars.... Since when did it become ok to profile a porn star on classy
and worthwhile show? Why did you see the need to sell out for smut when you were one of the remaining substantial, distinguished shows and publications around? No matter how you spin it, it's painfully apparent that you’ve sold out.
As parents across the country struggle daily with the challenges of unwanted internet porn hiding in the anonymous void of cyberspace, you’ve seen fit to glorify this X-rated profession by using your show to legitimize a woman whose only claim to fame is being the biggest porn star in America. By giving dignity to the degradation of women, you’ve sunk to an all time low. You disgrace, dishonor and gravely disservice many viewers and readers like myself who have fiscally and faithfully supported you year after year.
It’s not ok.