That's Not Oprah on Georgia's 'Racist' Robocalls

'Jesus don't like ugly,' former talk show host responds
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 6, 2018 9:25 AM CST
That's Not Oprah on Georgia's 'Racist' Robocalls
Oprah Winfrey attends a rally for gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in Marietta, Ga., on Nov. 1.   (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Oprah Winfrey shared a final message to voters with hours to go before Election Day: "Jesus don't like ugly. And we know what to do about that: Vote." The video message via Instagram came in response to what Winfrey described as "racist robocalls in my name" against Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, a Democrat for whom Winfrey has been campaigning, per Time. "This is the magical negro, Oprah Winfrey, asking you to make my fellow negress, Stacey Abrams, the governor of Georgia," a voice is heard saying, per CNN, which aired a portion of the call on air.

The call, which went on to compare Abrams to a "poor man's Aunt Jemima," was traced to a white supremacist podcasting site also responsible for a robocall that referred to Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, another Democrat, as "negro" and included the sound of a monkey screeching, per HuffPost and the Hill. Abrams' Republican opponent Brian Kemp also condemned the call as "unbridled hate and unapologetic bigotry." Abrams' camp wasn't appeased, however, with a rep noting this is "the kind of hate he and his allies have been spewing around the state." (Meanwhile, Oprah has been going door to door.)

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