Nigerian-British Singer, Seal, Calls Oprah A Hypocrite

American media mogul and Billionairess, Oprah Winfrey, has been called a hypocrite by Nigerian-British artiste, Seal, shortly after she electrified the Golden Globe Awards with a speech highlighting the campaign against sexual misconduct.

Seal claimed the global celebrity is a hypocrite and “part of the problem for decades”.

At this week’s awards, Ms Winfrey delivered a widely-admired speech in which she talked about challenging racial and gender discrimination and praising the way women had spoken out in the aftermath of allegations of sexual assault levelled at producer Harvey Weinstein and others.

“For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men,” said Ms Winfrey, who within hours was being talked of as a possible presidential candidate for 2020.

Not everyone appreciated Ms Winfrey’s comments. Among those to voice criticism of her was the Grammy-winning British singer and songwriter, 54-year-old Seal.

The man famous for songs such as Kiss from a Rose, republished a pair of photos of Ms Winfrey with Mr Weinstein, including one in which she appeared to be kissing the producer’s cheek. On top of the photos were the words: “When you have been part of the problem for decades, but suddenly they all think you are the solution.”

Seal, whose real name is Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel, added a sarcastic comment that suggested Ms Winfrey knew Mr Weinstein was mistreating women.

“Oh I forgot, that’s right….you’d heard the rumours but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young stary-eyed actresses who in turn had no idea what they were getting into. My bad,” he wrote. To complete his post he used the hashtag #SanctimoniousHollywood.
Last month, Ms Winfrey spoke out in the aftermath of the claims alleged at Mr Weinstein by dozens of women – allegations he denies – and others in the industry.
“Everybody has a story and so I think this is a watershed moment. If we make this just about Harvey Weinstein, then we will have lost this moment,” Ms Winfrey told CBS.

“I think this is a moment, where no matter what business you work in, the women who not only had the disease to please, that’s a part of it, but who felt that in order to keep my job, to keep my position, in order to keep moving forward…I’ve got to smile. I’ve gotta look the other way. I’ve got to pretend he didn’t say that. He didn’t touch me. Those days are about to be over.”