When it comes to Oprah, she is ossified

On Saturday, Gina told us a story about some woman indignantly questioning her when she said she didn't like Oprah. Really, that seems to be a pretty common reaction among Oprah fans, and I can't say I get it. bethje had the same sort of argument with my stepmother. I mean, Oprah is an entertainer, right? (Not a good one, in my opinion, but you're entitled to your own.) If someone were to tell me they didn't like, say, Weird Al or L. Frank Baum, I might be a little sad, but I wouldn't get indignant about it. It seems like, to some fans, Oprah ISN'T an entertainer, but the Messiah. Whatever she says merits hours of applause, and whatever she's reading becomes a bestseller. But why is she so admired? People will say things about how she gives a lot to charity, but so does, say, Bill Gates, and I doubt someone would get particularly indignant if a stranger said they hated him. And I've heard that Oprah puts weird stipulations on some of her charitable projects, like that weird girls' school in Africa. But the thing is, even if she IS doing a lot of good in the world, that doesn't mean I have to like her personally, does it?