News | Entertainment
18 Sep 2025 3:30
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
     17 Sep: Paris Hilton has a room in her home dedicated to housing her collection of 10,000 sunglasses
     17 Sep: Meg Stalter shunned the formal dress code and wore jeans to the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday (14.09.25)
     17 Sep: Neil Young made a dash to hospital after his show in California over the weekend due to an "unexpected health emergency in the family"
     17 Sep: Mark Ronson has recalled the bizarre night he spent in Michael Jackson's hotel room when he was 13
     17 Sep: Hacks is ending with season five
     17 Sep: Reba McEntire and Rex Linn are engaged
     17 Sep: Sofia Vergara had to miss the Emmy Awards on Sunday night (14.09.25) after being rushed to hospital
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    World champion high jumper Hamish Kerr has fired a warning to his rivals that he believes a strong offseason will take him to another level More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    A warning from a Government watchdog - for councils to manage their finances carefully More...



     Today's News

    Rugby:
    World champion high jumper Hamish Kerr has fired a warning to his rivals that he believes a strong offseason will take him to another level 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Paris Hilton has a room in her home dedicated to housing her collection of 10,000 sunglasses 21:31

    International:
    Hasan Piker opens up on Charlie Kirk's death, Donald Trump and Elon Musk's campaign against him 21:27

    Rugby:
    The Black Ferns are under no illusions of what lies ahead with Canada standing between them and a spot in the Rugby World Cup final 21:17

    Entertainment:
    Meg Stalter shunned the formal dress code and wore jeans to the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday (14.09.25) 21:01

    Entertainment:
    Neil Young made a dash to hospital after his show in California over the weekend due to an "unexpected health emergency in the family" 20:31

    Entertainment:
    Mark Ronson has recalled the bizarre night he spent in Michael Jackson's hotel room when he was 13 20:01

    Entertainment:
    Hacks is ending with season five 19:31

    Environment:
    Firefighters are continuing to fight one large scrub fire in Canterbury, fuelled by strong winds and forestry slash 19:07

    International:
    What time does Gout Gout run at World Athletics Championships? How to watch Gout Gout's 200m heat 19:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd