Oprah announces she's supporting Fetterman over former protégé Dr. Oz in PA Senate race


Oprah Winfrey doesn't live in Pennsylvania, but she revealed Thursday night that if she did, her ballot would have already been cast for Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman — not his Republican opponent Mehmet Oz, the man whose entertainment career she launched on her eponymous talk show.
Winfrey spoke about the Pennsylvania Senate race during a virtual event she hosted about voting. She stressed the importance of having a plan to vote and being informed on the issues. "If we do not show up to vote, if we do not get fired up in this moment, the people who will be in power will begin making decisions for us," she said. "Decisions about how we care for our bodies, how we care for our kids, what books your children can read, who gets protected by the police and who gets targeted. And right now, you have a say in these things we do."
She then said, "If I lived in Pennsylvania, I would've already cast my vote for John Fetterman, for many reasons." Fetterman, along with other Senate candidates like Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin and Cheri Beasley in North Carolina, "are working to represent ... the values that we hold dear, the values of inclusion, the values of compassion and community that so many of us share," Winfrey said. "So use your discernment, which seems to be missing in a lot of our country today. Use your discernment and choose wisely for the democracy of our country."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Fetterman campaign quickly touted Winfrey's seal of approval, saying "it speaks volumes that Oprah would endorse Fetterman over Oz. Oprah is widely regarded as the person who helped launch Dr. Oz's career and knows him well." Fetterman, the statement continued, is "grateful for Oprah's support and trust on the issues that matter to people across the country and Pennsylvania as we close out this campaign."
Oz made frequent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show starting in the early 2000s, which led to him getting his own syndicated program, The Dr. Oz Show, in 2009. The longtime New Jersey resident moved into a house in Pennsylvania belonging to his wife's family in 2020, his team has said, and the next year Oz announced he was ending The Dr. Oz Show so he could run for Senate in the Keystone State.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Southern barbecue: This year’s top three
Feature A weekend-only restaurant, a 90-year-old pitmaster, and more
-
Film reviews: Anemone and The Smashing Machine
Feature A recluse receives an unwelcome guest and a pioneering UFC fighter battles addiction
-
Music reviews: Geese, Jeff Tweedy, and Mariah Carey
Feature “Getting Killed,” “Twilight Override,” and “Here for It All”
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US