"I`m not lettin` ya`ll know I`m gay! I can`t lose people from watching my format that I ripped off from Phil Donahue!"Oprah wasn't the first to rip off Donahue, who created the format in the days of black & white TV. There was once a glut of Donahue clones after the market proved big enough for Phil and Oprah. I was once addicted to the shows, and worked part-time in the early evening, so I watched them all day long. In addition to Phil and Oprah, I also would have the option of watching Sally Jessy Raphael, Montel Williams, Jenny Jones, Ricki Lake, Richard Bey, Maury Povich, Jerry Springer, Leeza Gibbons, Gabrielle Carteris, Danny Bonaduce (I'm not making that up, and the show wasn't bad), Gordon Elliott, Bertice Berry, Richard Lopez, Jane Pauley, Joy Browne, Jane Whitney, Geraldo Rivera, and, yes, Gayle King. I probably saw every program that the infamous Spur Posse found their way on.
I decided that I needed to stop watching the shows when Donahue did a show on infantilism, a sexual fetish practiced by adult men who wear diapers, act like little babies, and hire busty women to "nurse" and cuddle them...and more. A portly, balding man wearing nothing but an oversized bib and a diaper waddled on to the set, which was decorated with oversized playpens and building blocks. He was the first of many. At first, I thought it was a practical joke, but as the show progressed, I realized this was dead serious, and almost threw up.
I never thought I would miss Donahue, but the way he used to roam the aisles of the studio for audience responses used to be the template. If someone didn't like the way Donahue was framing the debate, they could just raise their hand and pipe up about it. That's a thing of the past now; Oprah is in full control of the program, and only people off-stage allowed to submit opinions are those whose participation is pre-arranged. That's the way it is for all the Donahue clones except for Jerry Springer, whose moronic fans are as likely to moon or flash as make a cogent comment.
Yeah I remember that of Donahue, he really use to let the audience participate. I think what also did him in (besides the adult baby episode) was when he appeared in a dress for the transvestite show. I think that made people vomit just as much as the baby thing.
Speaking of vomiting, Oprah makes me vomit just as much. I think my record of watching her is about 2 minutes before I go so disgusted I have to change the channel. Oprahs show is just one big ego massage for Oprah. "See how Oprah reacts to this, see how Oafrah reacts to that. See how Oafrah sucks up to Hollywood a-holes.." And if it`s black people, "watch Oafrah condescend to blacks by putting on her "black accent" as if black people won`t understand what she says unless she does. She`s a big puke and it just boggles my mind why anyone would find one scintilla of interest in that freggin` bug eyed turd. What really exposed her is when Katrina hit New Orleans, she couldn`t get her camera crew down there fast enough. Forget food, forget rescue, Oafrah needs to get her fat face in those photo-ops first.
"Ok, I`ll wear no make up so I look like a resucer...Ok, now clear these damn people out of here! Is the camera on me now? OK, keep these police around me! I want constant security!"