Why the Internet Is Dragging Oprah Winfrey Over Her Crass Story About Whitney Houston

In news that can only be described as “girl, you shoulda kept that to yourself,” Oprah Winfrey is detailing a little-known story about one of her past interactions with the late Whitney Houston. And trust us when we tell you, people online are not too happy with what she shared.

The reveal came during a panel discussion the veteran daytime talk show host was giving in France at this year’s Cannes Lion Festival on Monday. During the discussion, she explained how Houston came on her show for the last time in 2009 and gave a special performance. However, what viewers didn’t know at the time was that the “Saving All My Love” singer had relapsed and was back using drugs. If you’ll remember, earlier that decade, Houston admitted she was dealing with substance abuse problems but was going to get the help that she needed.

Sadly, by the time she popped out for Winfrey’s show, she was back in a bad place. In fact, things were so bad that the veteran TV host wound up detailing that Houston fell onstage at one point as she was singing. However, due to the embarrassment she knew the “I Have Nothing” singer would endure, Winfrey petitioned her in-studio audience not to publicize any of the footage they’d recorded.

RELATED: A Look At Oprah’s Villain-Era Moments

“I had such trust for the Oprah Show audience, and Whitney did, I think, it was her last show with us. And she had gone back on drugs. But the first interview I did with her where I had gone back behind stage and I asked her about her intention—she was clean. But the day she came to my show to perform there in front of the audience, she was not,” Winfrey said in the footage captured by Variety.

She continued: “And she fell off of the stage. And I knew if that story got out that she’d fallen off the stage…that she’d be destroyed by that. And so, even though the audience was there and the audience had cameras, I begged them not to put those pictures out because it would ruin her life. And they did not.”

But while Winfrey’s story of a good deed done to a friend may sound good on the surface, once the video began making the rounds on social media, many online weren’t too thrilled by it. For many, they questioned why—if Houston’s falling was that bad and would’ve been that detrimental to her reputation—Winfrey felt the need to publicize now that she’s dead. It’s one thing to air somebody’s dirty laundry while they’re alive to defend themselves, but it’s a whole other thing to do so when they’re gone.

And that’s exactly why countless people took to social media to call the OWN Network owner out.

“I’m just not understanding the point of Oprah sharing that particular story about Whitney Houston. Especially after keeping it to herself all of these years. That GLP-1 got her feeling herself!” one person said on X/Twitter.

“Why is it our business now if it wasn’t supposed [to be] ours then?” one user questioned.

“There was no point in telling this story other than to make herself seem like some hero to Whitney in a moment she felt she had to ‘save her’. What a loser!” said another.

One other user wrote: “I just made a post about when I think celebrities lose their humanity by sharing personal information like this and it’s Beyoncé in the elevator, Brandy and the note, and THIS was Oprah’s…Whitney has passed there’s literally no need to share this.”

Added another on Instagram, “And you’re sharing this because…??? Asked everybody to keep it to themselves, and they did. But now you felt the need to share it with us??? You know what…that Maya Angelou quote serves you perfectly: ‘When people show you who they are, believe them.’ You just did it…again.”

While people’s feelings are lowkey justified, we can’t help but slightly feel like this move was a little par for the course for Winfrey, given her history of villain-era-like behavior on her show. Though it was truly entertaining, other moments were downright mean and off-putting. Unfortunately for the beloved former daytime show host, this latest moment is just yet another example of that.