Oprah On N-Word, Paula Deen, And Rae Dawn Chong Scandals

Oprah has weighed in on the n-word scandals of late after Paula Deen and former co-star of Miss Winfrey Rae Dawn Chong were embroiled in controversy over the word — though in a very O-like way.

Oprah didn’t directly address Paula Deen or Rae Dawn Chong in her Parade interview, but the latter had not only co-starred with Oprah in The Color Purple — she also directly addressed the talk queen in her prior comments.

Chong had gone so far as to not only use the word in reference to Oprah, but also to compare her to a “field n*****,” a term that is insulting on numerous levels.

According to the big O, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white — Oprah does not tolerate that word, period. She said:

“You cannot be my friend and use that word around me.”

Does anyone else think two smaller stars are no longer invited to Oprah’s celebrity pizza party?

It should be noted that Oprah mentions neither Rae Dawn Chong nor Paula Deen’s n-word controversies directly — she doesn’t even refer to either woman specifically.

But in a classic Oprah smackdown, she not only manages to make her opinion known, she does it in such a way that no one can really say anything cross about it. Oh, Oprah. We forgot what we liked so much about you:

“It shows my age, but I feel strongly about [the n-word] … I always think of the millions of people who heard that as their last word as they were hanging from a tree.”

Powerful, huh? Winfrey also says that Martin Luther King’s work isn’t done yet, adding:

“Are more people judged by the content of their character than by the color of their skin? Yes. Is everybody judged by the content of their character? Absolutely not.”

What do you think of Oprah’s n-word comments?