Oprah Winfrey has delivered yet another inspirational speech, this time at The Hollywood Reporter’s first-ever Empowerment in Entertainment gala. Accepting the inaugural Empowerment in Entertainment award — which recognizes those who have supported underrepresented voices in the industry, and will be named in her honor going forward — the mogul spoke about empowerment, opportunity, and how both have changed for women, people of color, and other marginalized communities throughout her life. Grammy winner Alicia Keys presented Winfrey with the honor.
“Empowerment is authority. It’s a signed permission slip to seize the day. It’s the process of getting stronger and more confident and more engaged,” Winfrey declared. “To be empowered is to move through the world without fear or apology, and with these gifts, come an even deeper privilege — the ability to take charge of your own life and claim your rights.”
The “Wrinkle in Time” star noted that the women of her mother’s generation — not to mention those who were coming up alongside Winfrey — were denied empowerment and the chance to fight for themselves. “[Women were] forced to grit their teeth and take it, because standing up for themselves just wasn’t even an option, the risk was too great and they knew it,” she said of her mother’s era.
The multi-hyphenate also added that those who are empowered today owe it to those who came before to seize every opportunity — for themselves, for their predecessors, and for future generations. “I stand here today, feeling more empowered than ever before,” Winfrey said. “I come as one and I stand as 10,000, grateful beyond words to look around this room and know that we are all here to fulfill the dreams of those who came before us,” Winfrey said. “We are here not merely to bear witness, but to be the new voices of an extraordinary new age.”
Challenging young people to work to further empower themselves and others, Winfrey said, “I see the sacrifice and work that it took to get you there. But more than that, I see the ways in which your lives are forever changed because of the opportunity you were given and the choices you made to step up into leadership roles and end the cycles of abuse and poverty that your mothers and grandmothers and fathers have endured.”
Winfrey used her platform to commend Ava DuVernay for hiring solely women directors — many of whom are up-and-comers — on their OWN series, “Queen Sugar.” She thanked her frequent collaborator for “leading the charge in employing female directors for our beautiful scripted series.” Winfrey also revealed that they “have hired 28 first-time female TV directors during our four seasons of production. These filmmakers were not able to get a job in television because no one was willing to take a chance on them,” she explained. “But Ava was not only willing to, she was wanting to. And now, as much as we’d love to hire them back, they’re all too busy working on other projects. That is incredible.”
The Empowerment in Entertainment gala saw the launch of the Young Executives Fellowship, which offers industry mentorship and internships, as well as college scholarship opportunities, to 20 Los Angeles high school students. Gala attendees included Eva Longoria, Jill Soloway, Ali Wong, Marsai Martin, Amazon’s Jennifer Salke, and Netflix’s Cindy Holland.
Winfrey received the Golden Globes’ lifetime achievement prize, the Cecil B. de Mille Award, in 2018. Her recent acting credits include starring turns in “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” and “Greenleaf” as well as a “Handmaid’s Tale” cameo. She will exec produce DuVernay’s next OWN series, romantic anthology “Cherish the Day.” Winfrey recently returned to the talk-show world with “After Neverland,” an interview special with the men who detailed the alleged sexual abuse Michael Jackson subjected them to as children in four-hour doc “Leaving Neverland.”
