News | Entertainment
14 Oct 2025 19:33
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Oprah Winfrey fought back tears as she recalled her painful relationship with her mother

    The media mogul was not close with her mom Vernita Lee - who gave birth to Oprah when she was a teenager and died in 2018 at age 83 - and she's now admitted she struggled to say anything positive about her when she was asked to say a few words at a church event


    During an episode of 'The Oprah Podcast', the TV titan was on the verge of tears as she explained her complication relationship with her mother. She said: "I had been asked to come to church to give all these accolades about my mother. It was important for her to be seen as religious in the community ...

    "And I couldn't think of one thing."

    Oprah went on to say: "I was like, 'Oh my God, I don't have one memory'. And so, when it came time for me to speak, I thought, 'Well what do I actually have to be grateful for?' She didn't abort me. She did the best that she knew."

    She added: "The best that she knew was not enough to feed what I needed, was not enough to make me feel whole, was not enough to make me feel valued or seen or important to her.

    "It was not. But it was the best that she could do, and I gave up the hope that it could have been anything other than what she had."

    Oprah previously admitted she struggled to find the right words to talk to her mother when she was nearing the end of her life back in 2018.

    She told PEOPLE magazine: "In hospice care they have a little book about the little conversations. I thought, "Isn't this strange? I am Oprah Winfrey, and I'm reading a hospice care book on what to say at the end' ...

    "She's sitting in this little room - she loves sitting in this room where it's 80 degrees. She just watches TV all day.

    "What I said was, 'Thank you. Thank you, because I know it's been hard for you. It was hard for you as a young girl having a baby, in Mississippi.

    "No education. No training. No skills. Seventeen, you get pregnant with this baby. Lots of people would have told you to give that baby away.

    "Lots of people would've told you to abort that baby. You didn't do that. I know that was hard. I want you to know that no matter what, I know that you always did the best you knew how to do. And look how it turned out'."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     14 Oct: Rupert Everett is feeling "emptiness" following the death of his mother
     14 Oct: Brittany Cartwright is "feeling amazing" after undergoing a "mommy makeover" earlier this month
     14 Oct: Michael Douglas has remembered Diane Keaton as one of Hollywood's "greatest icons"
     14 Oct: Richard Ashcroft was amazed by Liam Gallagher's "discipline" when he joined them on Oasis' reunion tour this summer
     14 Oct: Michael J. Fox doesn't want a "dramatic" death
     14 Oct: Keira Knightley was "not aware" of the boycott of Audible's Harry Potter series before signing up to the project
     14 Oct: Bono's part-owned luxury property is at the centre of a stabbing shock
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Otago halfback Dylan Pledger has missed out on the All Blacks XV development squad for their three-match northern tour in November More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    First home buyers could be the winners - after consultation on a Reserve Bank proposal More...



     Today's News

    Entertainment:
    Rupert Everett is feeling "emptiness" following the death of his mother 19:11

    Soccer:
    All Whites coach Darren Bazeley expects Norway to present a different dynamic without striker Erling Haaland in tomorrow morning's football friendly in Oslo 18:57

    Entertainment:
    Brittany Cartwright is "feeling amazing" after undergoing a "mommy makeover" earlier this month 18:41

    Motoring:
    Major Taranaki and Waikato roads will stay closed overnight - with slips in today's downpours 18:37

    National:
    The Instagram effect: dying for the perfect photo 18:17

    Entertainment:
    Michael Douglas has remembered Diane Keaton as one of Hollywood's "greatest icons" 18:11

    Rugby League:
    Retiring playmaker Kieran Foran will partner Dylan Brown in the halves for the Kiwis in Sunday's Pacific Championships opener against Samoa in Auckland 18:07

    Entertainment:
    Richard Ashcroft was amazed by Liam Gallagher's "discipline" when he joined them on Oasis' reunion tour this summer 17:41

    Cricket:
    White Ferns coach Ben Sawyer's drawing on their 2023 tour of Sri Lanka, ahead of tonight's Cricket World Cup match against the hosts in Colombo 17:27

    Business:
    First home buyers could be the winners - after consultation on a Reserve Bank proposal 17:17


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd