Oprah Winfrey claimed she was ‘shocked’ by the anger directed at her and Dwayne Johnson over their Maui disaster relief fund.
At the end of August, the famous couple announced the creation of a relief fund in aid of the recent victims of the tragic Hawaiian wildfires on social media.
The ‘residents’s Fund of Maui’ was established to assist the thousands of residents who have been displaced from their homes as well as the bereaved relatives of the 115 persons who perished as a result of a series of wildfires.
RELATED: Dwayne Johnson Makes A ‘Historic’ Donation To Aid Striking Actors
At the time of the announcement, Oprah and The Rock both pledged $5 million to the fund, pushing their social media followers to give and assist collect more funds for locals in need.
Many were taken aback and astonished to see Johnson, a millionaire, and Oprah, a billionaire, soliciting the general population for money rather than appealing to other renowned names.
Commenting has been disabled after Oprah posted the video and received anger from TikTok and X users, and she has now addressed the negativity directly.
On CBS Mornings with Arthur C. Brooks on Tuesday (12 September), the 69-year-old stated she was being ‘attacked online’.
RELATED: Chris Rock Says He Turned Down Sit-Down Interview With Oprah Winfrey After Oscars Slap
“Well, this is a really great point about being happier in the midst of an onslaught of being terrorised and vilified online,” she stated while promoting her new book, Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier.
“I’m going to say it. Because I was thinking, “What if I don’t really know who I am?” I came away from this experience with a lot more compassion towards young children. It will eliminate you.”
Continuing, the celebrity stated that the ‘online attacks, lies, and conspiracy theories’ surrounding the video had unfortunately taken the ‘focus off’ the fund itself and aiding the ‘people of Maui’.
During the interview, The Butler actress revealed that she was inspired to launch The People’s Fund of Maui after reading an article about Dolly Parton.
RELATED: Dwayne Johnson Supporting Brendan Fraser’s Movie Comeback: Brendan Fraser’s Reaction Very Nice of Him
The article in question detailed the country singer’s earlier efforts to raise $12.5 million for individuals affected by the Gatlinburg, Tennessee fires in 2017.
“I was like, ‘Whoa! That’s the plan. Getting the money directly into the hands of the people established the ultimate structure for that.’
“We thought that starting the fund with $10 million would be a great idea because both of us have given to charities our entire lives.”
“We’ll do what Dolly did, get other people to give money, and then we’ll put it directly into people’s bank accounts,” Oprah added.
Despite being ‘enthusiastic’ about the fund and the good it may do for the victims of the Hawaii Firestorm, she said she was treated with ‘vitriol’.
“I was overjoyed. “I was so excited about it, and then the next morning I woke up and saw all of this vitriol, and I was like, ‘Whoa, what happened here?'” she added.
Download The Radiant App To Start Watching!
Web: Watch Now
LGTV™: Download
ROKU™: Download
XBox™: Download
Samsung TV™: Download
Amazon Fire TV™: Download
Android TV™: Download