News | Entertainment
25 Oct 2025 3:57
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
     24 Oct: 50 Cent would love to be at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding
     24 Oct: Busy Philipps has admitted the Dawson's Creek cast were still hopeful James Van Der Beek would join their reunion "up until the last second"
     24 Oct: Bella Hadid has apologised for her "stamina" after her runway return at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
     24 Oct: Kristen Bell is "still shocked" Adam Brody agreed to be in Nobody Wants This
     24 Oct: Ciara has teamed up with True Religion for a new campaign celebrating "women who hustle"
     24 Oct: Sean 'Diddy' Combs woke up in prison "with a knife to his throat"
     24 Oct: Keira Knightley banned social media in her home to protect her children from "unregulated spaces"
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    All Blacks vice-captain Ardie Savea's talking up the Irish, ahead of the first leg of their end-of-year Grand Slam tour More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Hope for a big turnout at the World Dairy Summit in Auckland next year More...



     Today's News

    Rugby:
    All Blacks vice-captain Ardie Savea's talking up the Irish, ahead of the first leg of their end-of-year Grand Slam tour 21:57

    Entertainment:
    50 Cent would love to be at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding 21:30

    Rugby:
    A claim that prior coaching tweaks have generally triggered positive outcomes for the All Blacks 21:17

    International:
    Satellite images show White House's East Wing has been demolished for Donald Trump's ballroom 21:07

    Entertainment:
    Busy Philipps has admitted the Dawson's Creek cast were still hopeful James Van Der Beek would join their reunion "up until the last second" 21:00

    Rugby:
    All Blacks vice-captain Ardie Savea's reflecting on some fond memories, ahead of a fitting start to their end-of-year tour against the four Home Nations 20:57

    Entertainment:
    Bella Hadid has apologised for her "stamina" after her runway return at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 20:30

    Entertainment:
    Kristen Bell is "still shocked" Adam Brody agreed to be in Nobody Wants This 20:00

    Entertainment:
    Ciara has teamed up with True Religion for a new campaign celebrating "women who hustle" 19:30

    Cycling:
    Kiwi cyclist Campbell Stewart missed out on a bronze medal in the men's scratch race at the Track World Championships in Chile, despite seemingly crossing the line in third place 19:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd