Oprah Winfrey Says Leaving Neverland Interview Sparked “Hateration”

After the debut of Leaving Neverland—the shocking HBO documentary highlighting pedophilia accusations against Michael Jackson—Oprah Winfrey threw the full weight of her support behind the film. She hosted a post-show interview (titled After Neverland) with Jackson accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck, asking them about their claims and filling her audience with male survivors of sexual abuse. In a Wednesday night interview on The Daily Show, Winfrey said that the special earned her more hate than any other segment has in years.

“I havent had that much hateration since I did The Puppy Episode with Ellen [DeGeneres],” she said, referring to her guest-starring role in the iconic episode of the sitcom Ellen in which DeGeneress character came out. “We had to take people off the switchboard, cause there was so much hateration going on.”

When asked by Trevor Noah what led her to make After Neverland, Winfrey, a survivor of sexual abuse, said she wanted to break down the pattern that sexual abusers follow. “I realized a lot of people are going to be triggered by watching it, and that a lot of people will not understand what the pattern is . . . its not about one person, it is about the pattern. It is about the seduction. People call it molestation, but there is a big seducing that goes on . . . that was important enough for me to take the hateration for.”

Winfrey also said she has never wavered in her beliefs about the allegations against Jackson. The singer, who died in 2009, vehemently denied them for years, and was acquitted on child-molestation charges in 2005. Winfrey herself interviewed Jackson in 1993, just a few months before Jordie Chandler, a boy in Jacksons circle, accused the singer of abuse. In her review of the special, Vanity Fair critic Sonia Saraiya noted that After Neverland seemed like Winfreys attempt to atone for that Jackson interview. Since hosting the interview special, Winfrey has been slammed by Jackson fans and criticized by the singers brother Jermaine Jackson. The singers estate has also filed a $100 million lawsuit against HBO over the documentary.

On The Daily Show, Winfrey said, in part, that she continued to believe Jacksons accusers because girls at her school in South Africa have been sexually assaulted and abused, yet they have “never won a case” against their abusers because the girls misremember certain details—such as the exact time of the assault—once theyre put on the witness stand.

“When youre in the midst of trauma, you may not remember the exact time,” Winfrey said. “Everybodys like, well, O.K.—guess it never happened . . . Ive been through that.”

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Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Full ScreenPhotos:Game of Thrones: 7 Other Shows That Tried to Take the Crown

Black Sails

The swashbuckling Starz series, which ran for four seasons from 2014 to 2017, followed a disparate band of pirates, promising all the old-timey sex and violence of Thrones in a more quasi-realistic setting. Executive produced by Michael Bay, the series actually did well with critics before coming to a close for good.Photo: By David Bloomer/Starz/Everett Collection.

Into the Badlands

AMC took a big, fantastical swing with Into the Badlands, a dystopian series about a fearsome fighter (Daniel Wu) and a poor boy (Aramis Knight) with dark potential. The show, which debuted in 2015 and will end this year, wasnt a ratings smash upon release, but has garnered strong reviews with each passing season.Photo: By Aidan Monaghan/AMC.

Marco Polo

In 2014, Netflix entered the realm of big-budget spending with Marco Polo, a 10-episode epic about the Italian explorer (played by Lorenzo Richelmy). The series clocked in at a reported $90 million, but never found its footing with viewers or critics, leading the streamer to cancel it two years later (a rare move at the time).Photo: By Sanja Bucko/Netflix.

Reign

If theres any direct parallel between Thrones and the TV it inspired, look no further than Reign, the CWs drama about Mary, Queen of Scots (played by Adelaide Kane). Though there were no fantasy elements, the show focused on a teenaged Marys quest to rule—punctuated by as much raunch as the network could get away with. The series ultimately ran for four seasons from 2013 to 2017.Photo: By Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW/Everett Collection.

The Bastard Executioner

Perhaps we spoke too soon about parallels, because, well—remember The Bastard Executioner? Created by Sons of Anarchys Kurt Sutter, the 2015 FX series followed a knight in 14th-century Wales who becomes a bloody executioner. Critics gutted the show, which ended up getting canceled after just one season.Photo: From FX Networks/Everett Collection.

The Shannara Chronicles

Based on the book trilogy, The Shannara Chronicles was MTVs turn at the fantasy bat. Set in a fictional realm called the Four Lands, the series followed elves fighting demons (to put it very simply). The 2016 show developed a passionate fandom, but was canceled after two seasons. It has since been shopped to other networks.Photo: From the Everett Collection.

Vikings

Historys 2013 series, based on the legendary tales of Viking Ragnar Lothbrok, follows a group of Norse warriors. It earned strong reviews early on and will soon air its sixth and final season—though a follow-up show is reportedly not far off.

CORRECTION: This gallery previously misstated which network Vikings aired on. It is History.

Photo: Courtesy of History.PreviousNext