Seal Lashes Out at Oprah on Instagram, Calls Her ‘Part of the Problem’

Oprah’s speech at the Golden Globes on Sunday got everyone talking. About her possible presidential run, about #MeToo, and about Time’s Up, the initiative Oprah mentioned during her speech. But it also got some people talking about what they say is Oprah’s complicity in the sexual harassment epidemic in Hollywood. International singer-songwriter Seal posted an image on Instagram, not praising Oprah, but calling her out.

Seal posted a picture of Oprah kissing disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein on the cheek.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdw9Onnn7og/

The caption reads, “Oh I forgot, that’s right…..you’d heard the rumours but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young stary-eyed actresses who in turn had no idea what they were getting into. My bad.” He also added the hashtag #SanctimoniousHollywood.

The meme calls Oprah “part of the problem.”

The picture of Oprah kissing Weinstein’s cheek has been brought up as evidence that she had to have known. The same argument was made about Hillary Clinton, who was photographed with Weinstein at various functions over the years. And it was also used when trolls attacked Meryl Streep, accusing her of being complicit to his abuse and crimes. TMZ ran a story when the Weinstein scandal first starting shaking loose, claiming that Weinstein said Oprah contacted him and offered to publicly support him.

Oprah has denied making an offer of support to Weinstein. She has said her offer was to interview him in a professional capacity.

But people were quick to point out Seal’s hypocrisy in lashing out at Oprah. His ex-wife, Heidi Klum, had a close personal and professional relationship with Weinstein that spanned several years. So, using Seal’s logic: if Oprah knew, shouldn’t Heidi have known, too? Or Seal himself?

https://twitter.com/OMGkee/status/951323620789366790

https://twitter.com/OMGkee/status/951367492580110336

The bottom line is, there’s no telling who knew what and when. Weinstein preyed on women with very little power, those who depended on him for their success. Oprah, even for all her flaws, is quite possibly one of the most powerful women in the industry. The dynamic between Weinstein and Oprah was likely very, very different. Taking a picture with someone, hell, even having a professional relationship with them, doesn’t make a person complicit.

(Image: Instagram / @seal)