300 ‘Ecstatic’ Oprah Audience Members Land in Australia
300 joyful Oprah Winfrey audience members arrived in Australia from the U.S. on Tuesday to begin their trip of a lifetime as winners of the talk show queen’s ultimate giveaway – an eight-day journey across the land Down Under, according to Popeater.com and wire services.
The audience members, who ranged in age from 18 to 75, were met by swarms of photographers and journalists as they stepped off the plane. The media jostled for position, screaming questions at Oprah’s audience as if they were visiting rock stars!
Later, the audience will be divided into smaller groups and swept away on a Grand tour of the the glittering Great Barrier Reef, the crocodile-infested rainforests of northern Oz, and the famous red monolith called Uluru, located in the remote and dusty Outback.
Winfrey kicked off her 25th and final season of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ in September by surprising her shrieking, jumping and sobbing fans with what she’s billed as the trip of a lifetime. The hand-picked audience was made up of some of who the program called its most loyal viewers over the years.
“It’s an unbelievable experience, and I just want to soak in every bit of it,” said Jocelyn Kelley, from Boston, who was traveling with her mother, Gloria. “To be in that audience, to be a part of something so big, is just amazing.”
Oprah, who will be arriving later on a private jet, had a special date with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington D.C. yesterday.
She was one of 5 Kennedy Center Honorees. Oprah’s arrival down under is being kept a closely guarded secret — as was her audience’s itinerary — which they learned upon their arrival. It is believed Oprah will touch down sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Oprah will film 2 episodes in Australia at the Opera House which is being renamed the ‘Oprah’ House. The bill for the $4 million trip will be split between Australia’s federal and state governments. Officials say that’s a small price to pay for the many millions of dollars of tourism advertising the show will bring.
“Oprah is a household name, not just in the United States but in the 145 countries where the show is broadcast,” Federal Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said in a statement. “That Oprah has chosen Australia as her Ultimate Adventure destination sends a powerful message to her millions of fans around the world.”
“I would have never thought little bitty ol’ me would ever have this opportunity,” said Orlando Bogins of Detroit. “It came at such a very hard time in my life – my mom had nine hours (of) surgery, I was laid off from my job and my house had been broken into. So we had all of that happen, and then I got notification that I was selected to go on the Oprah show.”
About 30 blacks (out of 300 mostly white giveaway winners) made the trip to Australia.
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*sucks teeth*
So.
And yes I’m being a.
Good for them, I hope they enjoy the trip.
#teamOprah Lady O is thebomb . com
Morning all
I am jealous as someone who loves to travel and see the world
Why is it necessary to always point out the number of blacks as if that’s a determination that Oprah is racist or not? Many minorities are not black skinned. How do you know how many of the remaining 270 aren’t minorities or came from other countries?? Not every lighter skinned person had a 300yr history in america since slavery… just sayin.
Yay for them!!!
@Xcal
I was about to ask. So who is the person that counted how many black people got to go.
Sandra did you pause your DVR on the audience and count them out.
All I know is my black azz aint one of them.
My Baby always doing things for strangers
Ms Sophia call me baby
I just want to be in the audience when she does the whole tell me what you want and its your show.
@ MS Lick M Aid how you this morning
<====== really boiling water cause the air is blowing in my office
i’m good, cold tho
i have a heater and a blanket on. how are u?
i’m hating…why can’t i get a free trip or car???
Good Morning yall!!!
@ Kimi that a really pretty picture
@ Ms bit o honey Im good freezing tho
How you?
@gypsy Good morning ma Havent seen you since you start a fire in here the other day
I don’t want a trip or a car. Can someone please all my debts, student loans and house included!
gypsy!!!
ALBoy says:
@ Ms bit o honey Im good freezing tho
@gypsy Good morning ma Havent seen you since you start a fire in here the other day How you?
_______________
Who me? What did I do? I’m good! Hanging in there before I get to go see my boo for New Years!! Woot Woot!
@Al thank you
and after thinking about it i am with you yvonne and candi…can someone pay these loans off?? i would love to be debt free
waddup CFREE!!!
Damn…only 30 were black?? That sucks and sends an ill message. So out of 300 audience members she only had 10% of HER people to experience such an amazing trip. Not sure how I feel about that…
This will be a beautiful write off for O….. Our world is lost in the Crazed
its not like she handpicks the audience. its whoever gets tickets
Majority of Oprah audience can experience this adventure on their own..I dont get the hype!!! maybe its just meh (shrugs 1 shoulder)
probably bc some ppl have to be negative about everything
Yvonne Im with you just pay off all my stuff you dont have to take me no where i will stay at the house
So let me get this straight, yall have a problem with there only being 30 blacks on the trip when she gave the trip out to the whole audience? Do yall watch Oprah? That is the makeup of the audience on any given day except for when there is a black guest on her show. Come on ppl we can’t pull the race card for everything!
@candi this is true
All i need is about 300k after you pay off the loans house cars and set up college funds for the little Allets then I can handle the rest
LMAO, the guy in the first pic looking like he just made off with Cookie Monster’s stash.
It has been my belief for years that Oprah’s producers scan your zipcode and the prefix of your telephone number to determine if you are eligible for the honor of sitting in her audience. That’s my theory.
My class is over!!! Gotta go!! This is ridiculous and I hate that I have to pay for this class.
Yeah- been trying to find my way into Oprah’s audience since 2008. The audience members are NOT hand-picked. They are picked by lottery and it’s a long azz waiting list to be picked-PERIOD. You only provide them with a telephone number and email address to get on the list and I’m also a
because I’m not going to Australia for free either.
Forget that, though. My goal in 2011 is to be at Oprah’s FINAL taping for her show next September! She’s probably going to be giving away $1 Million to each audience member and my azz needs to be there! Tax-free or NOT- I’ll TAKE IT!!!
All celevs write off stuff who cares let Oprah be GREAT
@yvonne I feel you somebody anybody is beyond welcome to pay OFF my college loans that’s all I ask I will pay off the rest of my bills!
People are so consumed with race…get over it already! Everything is not because we’re minority….I swear that shyt irks me to no end! >:(
Utopia
Enjoy your trip.
Check my link for My favorite Comedic Oprah Segment….
Now to sift through the BS…
Oprah send all these people to Australia and Australia has to pay for it…and Oprah get s all the credit…
so what part of this came out of Oprah check book…I know she can buy Australia if she wanted too…so why force them to foot the bill?
I’ve been away for some time but I just logged on to say that the chick in the Howard Alumni t-shirt(Shana) attends the same law school as me and I remember at the beginning of the year her raving on about getting to go on her show and how she was doing amazing things….lol, I must say a trip to Australia during finals week seems much more exciting than what I’m doing now. Studying contracts
My son’s teacher and her sister got a chance of a lifetime to go to Australia as part of Oprah’s audience. We were so happy for her and she was ecstatic. I can’t wait to hear all about it when she gets back.