Howard Stern recently called out Oprah Winfrey on his radio show, criticizing her for what he deemed a "lavish lifestyle."
On Monday, Stern, 68, accused the successful talk-show host of "showing off" on social media when updating her fans about her life.
"Oprah’s not embarrassed by her wealth at all,” Stern said during an episode of his self-titled radio show, The Howard Stern Show. "She loves showing it off on Instagram. It’s f****** mind-blowing when you follow her on Instagram, you see her estates, her gardens, the people who service her."
Robin Quivers, his co-host, jokingly replied: "Service her? She’s not a car."
"Well, she kind of is," Stern responded. "She’s got servants and like people cooking and it’s f******* wild. She knows how to be rich... but she kind of likes to show it off, which is something I’m not comfortable with. I don’t think that people should show off their wealth."
"Let’s put it this way," Quivers interjected, "Oprah’s just showing you her life. She’s not showing off."
"Well, you gotta be a little self-aware and know that there are people struggling out there, Robin," the 68-year-old said. "You got to. You gotta kind of think about people who don’t have — to eat. You know what I’m saying? I mean, come on. You gotta be a little bit aware of this."
Upon hearing the comments, fans took to social media to slam the radio host for attacking Winfrey.
"So….is Howard Stern mad at all wealthy people or just Oprah? He talkin about Oprah flaunting her wealth bc she has people cooking for her when folks are out here struggling. Bezos built a spaceship and went to space off the backs of his employees. Is Stern mad at him?" Wrote one user.
"Hilarious. @HowardStern is worth $650 million, has a $20M house in the Hamptons, a $20M two-floor penthouse in Manhattan and a $65M mansion in Palm Beach -- and HE'S bashing Oprah?!"
According to Forbes, Winfrey's net worth currently stands at approximately $2.5 billion. As per the outlet, the source of her wealth stems from her self-titled talk show that ran for 25 years.
Using the momentum from that, she reinvested the profits from the show plus the profits from films like The Color Purple, Beloved and Selma - that alone totals itself to more than $2 billion.
More recently, the Ocean's Thirteen star launched her cable channel (OWN). The 25.5% stake she has is worth $65 million alone. This paired with her return to Apple TV+ for an interview show about Covid-19 as part of her multiyear pact with the popular streaming platform takes her net worth up into the billions.
Winfrey came from a poverty-stricken background, growing up in rural Mississippi. She was the daughter to a teen mother and through hard work and determination, she managed to make a name for herself in the entertainment industry.
As per Forbes, she has also donated $425 million throughout her career, which includes over $100 million to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa focusing on education in the area.
