Oprah Winfrey seems to have put an end to rumors that she will run for president in 2020, telling British Vogue in an interview released Monday that running for office "would kill me."
Speaking to the magazine for its August issue, Oprah addressed the 2020 speculation that has followed her relentlessly, in large part in response to the inspiring speech she gave at the Golden Globes in January.
But, to the disappointment of her many fans, the 64-year-old star said she would not want to take on the dirty business of politics.
"In that political structure―all the nontruths, the bullshit, the crap, the nastiness, the backhanded backroom stuff that goes on―I feel like I could not exist," she told the magazine.
"I would not be able to do it. It's not a clean business. It would kill me," she added.
.@Oprah covers the August issue of British Vogue: https://t.co/TKn1tUYIuo pic.twitter.com/nmGLXFFs11
— British Vogue (@BritishVogue) July 2, 2018
Despite making it clear that there will be no Oprah 2020 ticket, she did address the topic that made headlines at the Globes; the #MeToo movement and the backlash against misogyny in Hollywood and beyond.
"People talk about 'these are such dark times,' but what if we shift the paradigm? Because I see it differently. I see, 'Isn't this remarkable that we're waking up?'" she told Vogue.
"For years, women have endured craziness. This is what's happening to people. They're allowing themselves to not just become corroded, but to become hysterical. You've got to lean [in] to the happiness."
Speculation around an Oprah 2020 bid had reached such heights following her Golden Globes speech that one poll showed a hypothetical race between her and President Donald Trump would see the TV star beat the president by 10 points, a Rasmussen Reports poll found in January.
Meanwhile, actress Meryl Streep suggested a Hollywood dream ticket for the 2020 presidential election would be Oprah as president and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as chief of staff.
"Somebody from the stage [mentioned] Tom Hanks, and he seemed ready to go," Streep jokingly suggested in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier in the year.
"That would be a pretty good ticket," Streep continued. "You could just keep it Hollywood, you know. You could have The Rock as the joint chief of staff. Harrison Ford running defense."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
