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Oprah Winfrey To Host Primetime Television Event, ‘An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution,’ Airing Monday, March 18, on ABC and Next Day on Hulu…

Special Features Conversations With Medical Experts and People Who Have Taken the Medications, Discussing the Pressing Questions Around Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy and Other Prescription Diabetes and Weight Loss Meds...

 

Hello World,

This is not expressly a Christian topic, but body image issues have had me seeking God for many years. Like many young girls growing up in America and likely elsewhere, I struggled with my weight and thoughts about whether I was enough because of my weight. At one point in my life, I overexercised as a way to my control my weight. Thank God I no longer feel compelled to overexercise and I am now more accepting of how God made me externally and internally. All of that being said, I have never been obese so I don’t know what it’s like to struggle with hundreds of extra pounds. But because of the struggles that I have had, I have paid attention to all of the ways that people approach weight loss, and I’ve definitely watched Oprah and how has she has traveled on her years-long weight loss journey. I remember when Oprah wheeled that wagon of fat onto her show while wearing skinny jeans, I bought Make the Connection: Ten Steps to a Better Body – and a Better Life, her book with exercise physiologist and certified personal trainer Bob Greene the same year I graduated from college in 1996; I paid attention to when she connected with Weight Watchers more recently and now she has left Weight Watchers in favor of weight loss medications. And she looked snatched too especially while promoting The Color Purple! For her sake, at 70 years old, I hope she’s come to a place of peace and acceptance around weight WHILE doing the best she can with the body God gave her. 

And so I will be watching as Oprah Winfrey hosts a sit-down conversation around the radical impact of prescription weight loss medications in the primetime event, An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution, airing MONDAY, MARCH 18 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC and the next day on Hulu. The special delves into the prevailing questions and concerns surrounding the impact on our health care, economy, lifestyle and culture.

Speaking in front of a live studio audience, Oprah gathers the country’s leading medical experts and everyday people who are in the battle of one of the biggest health care crises the world has ever known. For the first time in history, new drugs could prove to be the game changer to stem the tide of people living with obesity, an epidemic which has grown exponentially since the 1970s, costing $173 billion per year in medical costs in the United States alone.

“It is a very personal topic for me and for the hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe who have for years struggled with weight and obesity,” said Oprah Winfrey. “This special will bring together medical experts, leaders in the space and people in the day-to-day struggle to talk about health equity and obesity with the intention to ultimately release the shame, judgment and stigma surrounding weight.”

“We are thrilled to work with Oprah and the voices she has assembled to open a dialogue that destigmatizes and educates viewers on the important and polarizing topic of weight loss,” said Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group. “I can think of no one better to lead this meaningful conversation about such a critical issue that touches all of our lives.”

Joining the conversation are medical experts including Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. W. Scott Butsch, ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News medical correspondent Dr. Darien Sutton, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Dr. Amanda Velazquez and patients from around the country who have a range of personal experiences with prescription weight loss medications, including a teenager who was among the first to take the new drugs and begs the question whether these medications should be given to minors. Oprah also invites leaders from the two global pharmaceutical companies behind these revolutionary drugs to address what this means for the 100 million Americans and over 1 billion adults worldwide living with a deadly disease.

Key questions are addressed: Why is obesity designated a disease? Who are the medications really intended for? Who is eligible to receive weight loss drugs? What should folks ask their doctors? What are the short-term and long-term side-effects? What are the supply chain challenges and the impact on those with diabetes? Why is there shame surrounding taking medication, and what is the future of these medicines in our society and culture?

An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution is produced by Harpo Productions, executive produced by Oprah Winfrey and Tara Montgomery.

Here’s a conversation she had with Jimmy Kimmel a few days ago about her upcoming special. Didn’t she look and sound good? Definitely goals at 70…(And she shared a bit about Stedman as well…)

Will you be watching tomorrow?

About Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is a global media leader, producer, philanthropist, actress and author. Over the course of her esteemed career, she has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world, making her one of the most respected and admired figures today. For 25 years, Winfrey was host and producer of the award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, engaging in range of multifaceted cultural conversations. Currently, Oprah oversees Harpo Productions, serves as chairman and CEO of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, is the founder of O, The Oprah Magazine and digital companion site OprahDaily.com, and the host of the award-winning podcast “Super Soul.”

For more information on An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution (#OprahSpecial), visit abc.com and follow ABC on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Any thoughts?

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‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Star Angela Bassett Admits She Was ‘Gobsmacked’ After Losing Oscar Last Year Ahead of 2024 Oscars TONIGHT!

Hello World,

As a Christian, we are promised that all things (good and bad) work out for our good in the end, but I’m still salty that actress extraordinaire Angela Bassett didn’t win the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award last year for her role as the queen in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”  However, I do feel somewhat pacified that the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences opted to give an Honorary Academy Award to Angela in January. She’s more than worthy as Angela’s career has established her as one of the most esteemed actors of our time.  Her breakthrough role as Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do with It” earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.  Her film credits include “Boyz N the Hood,” “Malcolm X,” “Waiting to Exhale,” “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” “Music of the Heart,” “Sunshine State,” “Black Panther,” “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Soul” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” in which her supporting performance earned her a second Oscar nomination.  Her television credits include “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” “The Rosa Parks Story,” “American Horror Story” and “9-1-1.” The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network recently premiered an all-new OWN Spotlight one-hour special featuring Oprah Winfrey in conversation with 2024 Honorary Academy Award Recipient, Angela Bassett, for a retrospective look at her incomparable career spanning four decades. In this OWN Spotlight, Oprah met with the legendary actress at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures to discuss her recent, well-deserved honorary Academy Award  and how losing the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award last year felt as well.

On how she felt in the moment: It was, of course, a supreme disappointment. A supreme disappointment is human. So I thought, yes, I was disappointed. And I was. And I handled it like a human being.

On her viral facial face expression: I know a pastor who says technology’s different, people are the same.

On being gracious in the midst of a visible loss: For myself and for my children who were there with me.

Below is the entire clip in which Angela recounts what it was like last year when her name wasn’t announced as the winner…

Oprah and Angela also looked back on her illustrious career, from how she knew acting was her destiny to her blockbuster roles in both TV and film. Oprah reflected on the many highlights from her viral, uplifting acceptance speech and the impact of her legacy on future generations. They discussed the iconic women she’s portrayed through the years and what those characters have given to her. A devoted mother and wife, Angela shared moments from her journey of parenting with her husband, actor Courtney B. Vance and the dreams she has for her children.

Below is a clip of the full episode…

In looking for the good in this situation, what Oprah said to Angela following Angela revealing how she felt in the moment of “supreme disappointment” is something good… “And you know what’s interesting, that actually teaches your children more than anything you can ever say about what you’re supposed to do is how you behaved in that moment.” As Angela’s twins Bronwyn and Slater are headed to college next fall (I remember when it was announced that they were born), they will experience moments of triumph and disappointment, and it’s important to know how to respond to both.

Additionally, Angela and her family were recently featured on the cover of PEOPLE magazine in the article “How I Fought For My Dreams” and that feature may have not happened had it not been for her Oscar loss the year prior. We journalists live by the mantra “if it bleeds, it leads” so there’s that…

It was also a full circle moment as Angela, her husband Courtney Vance and their newborn twins were featured in the magazine back in 2006.

As a twin mom just two years into the journey, this full-circle moment gives me all of the feels…

I hope to be able to watch the Oscars later today (with toddlers,  TV time is not always guaranteed), but the top winner already took home the trophy in more ways than one…

Any thoughts?

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Lifetime’s Original Movie ‘Single Black Female 2: Simone’s Revenge’ Premieres This Saturday, March 2!

Hello World,

Before I get into today’s blog post, I did want to note that as promised I did watch Where is Wendy Williams?,  the Lifetime two-part documentary last weekend as I said in my blog post earlier in the month. However, I couldn’t finish it because knowing what I’ve come to know about Wendy in the several years that I watched The Wendy Williams Show, I don’t think she would want to be seen in that state no matter what has been said. What I noted at the end of my blog post is still how I feel:

 I don’t know where Wendy is, and truthfully, none of us need to know. Wherever she is, God knows and can always get to her. My prayer for her is that she will allow Him to heal her in every way that she needs to be healed…

Speaking of Lifetime, while this is not a Christian offering as far as I know, since I started this blog as a single black female, I will always have a special place in my heart for single black females…

Lifetime is airing the highly anticipated sequel to Single Black Female, which garnered over 8.0 million total viewers across linear and on digital platforms and was the #1 original non-holiday movie of 2022! My husband and I watched it, and he actually enjoyed the movie although he is not a Lifetime fan. Amber Riley, Raven Goodwin and K. Michelle reprise their roles for Single Black Female 2: Simone’s Revenge, premiering this Saturday, March 2 at 8p/7c set three years after the crazy events from the first film.

Three years after narrowly escaping the murderous clutches of her half-sister Simone (Amber Riley), Monica (Raven Goodwin) is ready for a fresh start in Seattle as the host of the city’s #1 primetime investigative television program. With her best friend Bebe (K. Michelle) by her side and a new love interest, things are looking up for Monica. Secretly nursed back to health and suffering from amnesia, Simone is building a new life when she comes across Monica on TV and her memories come rushing back, leading to a fateful reunion between the sisters. Can the two put the past behind them? Or will Simone’s need to get revenge win the day?

The film also stars Morgan Alexandria (Line Sisters), Christine Horn (Snowfall) and Kendrick Cross (Ambitions).

Below is the trailer:

Single Black Female 2: Simone’s Revenge, #SingleBlackFemale2,  is produced by Swirl Films for Lifetime. Gold Morgan, Ron Robinson, Abbey Sibucao and Eric Tomosunas serve as executive producers. Shari Carpenter directs from a script written by Sa’Rah Jones and Tessa Scott.

Any thoughts?