Oprah Winfrey Says She Left '60 Minutes' Because She Has 'Too Much Emotion' in Her Voice (Exclusive)
Oprah Winfrey's still got a lot of irons in the fire, but it turns out that working with 60 Minutes is no longer one of them.
Winfrey spoke with ET's Nischelle Turner at the The Hollywood Reporter's inaugural Empowerment in Entertainment Gala, where the 65-year-old journalist and TV personality was honored with the gala's Empowerment Award, and she opened up about parting ways with the long-running news show.
"I have admired that [show] my whole life," Oprah said, recalling the iconic 60 Minutes stopwatch that appears in the show's intro and its loud, recognizable ticking sound. "We all grew up with that."
"So, when I was offered every opportunity to be a part of it, I was really excited about it," she continued, "But, actually, I learned that it's not the most perfect venue for me."
In an interview with THR published Tuesday morning, Winfrey revealed for the first time that she'd officially cut professional ties with 60 Minutes.
Winfrey explained to the outlet that one of the reasons she decided to stop working with the famed news program was because they wanted her to have less emotional inflection in her voice while reporting, and even when saying her own name.
"[It's] never a good thing when I have to practice saying my name and have to be told that I have too much emotion in my name," Winfrey said in the Q&A.
Elaborating on her remarks, Winfrey explained to ET that "there were many times where I had to say my name over and over," while recording voice overs and intros for her reports.
"I'm used to doing one take, two takes. And so many times [they would] say, 'You got to do them again… It's too much emotion,'" She recalled. "You know, when I walk into a room and somebody says, 'You need to flatten out your personality,' that's not usually the space for me to be in."
The media mogul said that she was essentially told to "take my personality and put it in my pocket." Winfrey admitted that she did try to do that, but ultimately it just "didn't really work for me."
"I still love watching, have it on my app, I think it's great. It's just not the best venue for me," Winfrey added. "I really need to be in a space where I can be myself."
While she's no longer working with 60 Minutes, Winfrey still has a lot of upcoming projects in the works, including a TV series on mental health that she's developing with Prince Harry for Apple TV. Check out the video below to hear more.
RELATED CONTENT:
Jeff Fager Out as '60 Minutes' Executive Producer Following Harassment Claims
Oprah Winfrey Lands New Gig as Special Contributor to '60 Minutes'
Oprah Winfrey Says She Knows She'll Be Criticized for Hosting 'After Neverland' Interview
Related Articles: