Podcaster Joe Rogan accused TV personality Oprah Winfrey and former first lady Michelle Obama of brazen hypocrisy in their speeches at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday.
At the convention, Oprah blasted former President Trump, said preserving democracy requires “standing up to the bullies in our lives” and said she has witnessed, and sometimes been a victim of, “racism, sexism, income inequality and division.”
Soon after, the Trump campaign posted a thank-you letter Winfrey had written in 2000 suggesting he would make a good president. “It's a shame we're not running,” Winfrey wrote. “What a team!”
Similarly, the former first lady said her mother taught her “the meaning of hard work, humility and decency,” adding, “Neither my mother nor my father aspired to be wealthy. In fact, they were suspicious of people who took more than they needed. They understood that if everyone around them was drowning, it wouldn't be enough for their children to thrive.”
But on Thursday, during a conversation reflecting on how other high-profile figures have turned their backs on Trump in recent years, Rogan mocked the two women for making vast amounts of money on their own.
“What about Oprah?” Rogan said. “Oprah went from talking about her and Trump running together to saying at the DNC that Trump is a threat to democracy, to then onstage talking about income inequality, saying, 'Hey, you're freaking rich.' I'm like, 'Is that equality?'”
The podcaster continued, “I think what Michelle Obama was saying was that her mother or grandmother was always suspicious of people who took more money than they needed, like, you know, you're so rich. That's just crazy. That's insane that she would do that on a civil servant salary.”
Rogan isn't the only celebrity to call out Oprah for her hypocrisy. The media mogul's accusations of income inequality rang hollow to those who pointed to her massive current net worth, estimated by Forbes magazine at $3 billion.
“It seems a bit odd that Oprah, with her Hawaiian mansion, multiple homes, expensive wardrobe and frequent lavish vacations, would be talking about income inequality,” wrote conservative radio host Dana Loesch.
Meanwhile, the Trump War Room, the official account for former President Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, shared a clip of Michelle Obama's speech, commenting, “Michelle Obama says her parents were 'skeptical of people who took more money than they needed.' She has a net worth of $70 million and lives in a mansion on Martha's Vineyard.”
