Key Takeaways
- In September 2024, fact-checkers debunked the claim on Threads that U.S. Marshals escorted Oprah.
- A rumor that Gayle King was suing Oprah over Diddy’s arrest was also proven false.
- Oprah faced similar false accusations in 2020, which she denied on X.
Oprah Winfrey, widely recognized for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” has not been arrested, as there is no solid evidence or trustworthy news to verify this claim.
Despite rumors circulating online, these claims have been debunked and proven false.
Post by @authorjamescwilliamsView on Threads
On September 20, 2024, a post was shared on Threads falsely claiming that the talk show host was being “escorted around” by U.S. Marshals over alleged s*x trafficking. However, this rumor was quickly debunked.
Meta flagged the post for spreading fake information as part of its efforts to combat false news and misinformation.
A spokesperson from the U.S. Marshals Service directly refuted the claim, confirming that it is entirely false.
Interestingly, the false accusation surfaced right after Winfrey interviewed Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, on September 19 during a televised forum.
This coincidence suggests that someone may have intended the rumor to divert attention from her high-profile interview.
False stories about Oprah have circulated before as well. In January 2024, Real Raw News, a website notorious for spreading disinformation, claimed that authorities arrested Oprah Winfrey and sent her to Guantanamo Bay in December 2023 for crimes like treason and conspiracy.
The fabricated story even detailed a fictional capture by U.S. Navy JAG investigators.
However, multiple fact-checking organizations have confirmed that this narrative is entirely untrue.
Following Sean “Diddy” Combs’ arrest on September 16, 2024, yet another false rumor emerged.
This time, rumors claimed that Gayle King had sued her close friend Oprah Winfrey over Diddy’s legal troubles.
These rumors originated from unreliable Facebook pages, where videos with AI-generated narration falsely suggested that King was suing Oprah for reputational damage connected to Diddy’s scandal.
A page called Billy Benjamin in Indonesia posted one of these videos, which gained a lot of views before fact-checkers debunked it.
Snopes, a reputable fact-checking website, confirmed that no credible news outlets reported any such lawsuit.
@consciousjooose Fbi issues arrest warrant for oprah Winfrey. #oprah #fbi #cia #fyp #viral #trending #spiritual #news ♬ original sound – consciousjoose
Recently, on October 1, 2024, a viral TikTok video falsely claimed that federal agents raided Oprah Winfrey’s house in connection with Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal troubles.
The post alleged that the FBI had issued a warrant for Oprah, but it provided no credible evidence to support this claim.
Moreover, no legitimate media outlet has mentioned Oprah’s name in connection with Diddy’s case.
This isn’t the first time people have circulated such rumors; in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, a similar false claim surfaced, suggesting that authorities raided her home as part of a s*x trafficking investigation.
Back in March 2020, rumors spread online claiming that she and other celebrities had been arrested for s*x trafficking.
Oprah denied these allegations, stating they were not true, and addressed the false claims on Twitter.
Just got a phone call that my name is trending. And being trolled for some awful FAKE thing. It’s NOT TRUE. Haven’t been raided, or arrested. Just sanitizing and self distancing with the rest of the world. Stay safe everybody.🙏🏾
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) March 18, 2020
Despite the rumors making her a trending topic on social media, she confirmed that no such arrest or raid had occurred.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Oprah Winfrey’s teenage mother raised her in poverty after she was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, U.S.
- Referred to as the “Queen of All Media,” she was the richest African-American of the 20th century and, at one time, the only black billionaire in the world.
- She has been with her partner, Stedman Graham, a businessman and educator, for many years, having first met in 1986.
