Should Oprah Winfrey actually run for president, Seal probably wouldn’t vote for her. On Instagram, the veteran soul singer reposted a photo of the media mogul kissing Harvey Weinstein on the cheek. The picture was taken in 2014, though it recirculated this week after her rousing Golden Globes speech honoring the #MeToo movement. “Oh I forgot, that’s right… you’d heard the rumors but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young stary-eyed [sic] actresses who in turn had no idea what they were getting into. My bad,” Seal said.
Winfrey has produced and starred in movies distributed by the Weinstein Company, like 2007’s The Great Debaters and 2013’s The Butler. Once reports of Weinstein’s predatory behavior and sexual assault allegations flooded in late last year, though, Winfrey was quick to at least address the events. “I’ve been processing the accounts of Harvey Weinstein’s hideous behavior and haven’t been able to find the words to articulate the magnitude of the situation,” she said on Facebook.
Of course, by the time Winfrey took the Golden Globes stage to accept the Cecil B. de Mille Award, her words on pervasive sexual assault throughout history, in all industries, had Hollywood on their feet.
So I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘Me too’ again.
Seal did not reveal the sources behind his Instagram accusation. That said, Snopes points out that since the Golden Globes, a meme falsely quoting Winfrey, saying that she used to bring young women to Weinstein’s home, spread online. See Seal’s post below.
