DINH DOONG

Via: TheThings

 

There are many reasons why Oprah Winfrey is widely regarded as the queen of daytime TV. From interviewing pop culture icons like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Elizabeth Taylor to orchestrating that legendary Pontiac G6 giveaway in 2004, the now 69-year-old talk show host’s iconic show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran in nationwide syndication for nearly three decades, was responsible for some truly iconic TV moments.

But there were also countless times when Oprah’s interactions with guests went completely sideways, resulting in some pretty cringeworthy moments. One such awkward exchange occurred in 1986 when Oprah sat down with the iconic supermodel Cindy Crawford.

During an episode of Apple TV’s docuseries, Super Models, Crawford opened up about her sit-down with the legendary talk show host, accusing her of treating her like “chattel” by demanding that she show off her body on television. So, did Crawford ever forgive Oprah for that truly uncomfortable interview?

Cindy Crawford And Oprah Winfrey’s Awkward Interview In 1986

For a whopping 25 years, Oprah Winfrey helmed one of the most successful talk shows in American history; The Oprah Winfrey Show. Featuring interviews with the likes of Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, and Michael Jackson, the show continues to influence pop culture discourse over a decade since it concluded its daytime TV run. But it’s not just its most iconic moments that keep popping back up.

From that awkward interview with the Olsen twins, where Oprah repeatedly prodded them to discuss their size while they were battling an eating disorder, to that bizarre sit-down with Top Gun star Tom Cruise, plenty of regrettable interviews from the show have resurfaced over the years.

Via: Instar

Yet another regrettable interview that’s come back to haunt Oprah is her 1986 sit-down with supermodel Cindy Crawford. Then just 20 years old, Crawford was yet to become one of the most renowned supermodels in history, and was making her debut appearance on the show alongside her Elite Modeling Agency rep, John Casablancas.

In a resurfaced clip from the show, Oprah introduces Crawford to the audience, before posing a few questions about her career. Curiously, the now 69-year-old opted to direct most of her questions to Casablancas. “So did you have to groom her?,” she inquired. “Did she always have this body? This is unbelievable.”

 

Oprah then prompted Crawford to “stand up just a moment,” presumably so the audience can get an eyeful of her because “no one saw [her] come in standing up.” After Crawford nervously acquiesced to the odd request, Winfrey then remarked, “Now this is what I call a body!”

Cindy Crawford Called Out Oprah Winfrey For Treating Her Like Chattel During Their 1986 Interview

After blatantly asking Crawford to show off her body on national television, Winfrey proceeded to redirect her attention to Casablancas yet again. “So did you have to do anything with her?,” she inquired. “Did she have to go to that training period or no?”

via Instar

“With Cindy, in terms of looks it was very easy it was much more psychologically she was not sure she really wanted to model. She didn’t see, I think as clearly as we did the potential that she had. So it’s been a very slow process… little by little, her ambition is growing,” Casablancas responded. “She’s getting a sense, and I’m saying it now on this program, if she wants to she can be number one in the business.”

Though Crawford tried to interject with her own perspective on her career, Winfrey seemed intent on having Casablancas speak on her behalf.

Crawford would look back on the interview decades later on an episode of Apple TV’s Super Models, where she’d call out Winfrey for asking her to show off her body on national television.

Via: TheThings

“I was like the chattel or a child, be seen and not heard,” she said. “When you look at it through today’s eyes, Oprah’s like, ‘Stand up and show me your body. Show us why you’re worthy of being here.”’

The now 57-year-old supermodel also admitted that she didn’t recognize how inappropriate Oprah’s request was until she reflected on it in the wake of evolving attitudes. “In the moment I didn’t recognize it and watching it back I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that was so not okay really. Especially from Oprah,’” she said.

Did Cindy Crawford Ever Forgive Oprah Winfrey For Treating Her Like Chattel During Their Interview

So, did Crawford ever forgive Oprah for demanding she show off her body on national television? Well, if there were any hurt feelings, they certainly didn’t deter the supermodel from appearing on Oprah’s show multiple times throughout her career.

via Instagram @cindycrawford

According to Today, Crawford went on to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show ten more times before it went off-air in 2011. The now 57-year-old supermodel even appeared on an episode of Oprah’s Master Class on OWN in 2013, where she discussed, among other things, her brief marriage to acclaimed actor Richard Gere, and losing her younger brother to leukemia at just 3 years old.

Curiously, one of the other topics covered in the interview was Crawford’s experience with being judged for her appearance during her time in Northwestern.

“My first day at Northwestern, and my first day of calculus, I remember I walked into class,” she said at the time. “For some reason I caught the professor’s eye, and he was like, ‘Honey, I think you have the wrong class.’ And that made me so mad, because it was really the first time in my life that I felt judged by the way that I looked,” she continued. “I think it was really important to me, especially then, for people to hear what I have to say and to represent myself as someone who has a brain.”