Oprah Sister Episode Ratings Are Best In Six Years

Oprah's revelation that she has a half-sister she never knew existed drew her biggest ratings in nearly six years.

The episode, which introduced Oprah's sister, Patricia, and featured her reunion with Oprah and their mother, Vernita Lee, drew a 9.7 rating. That's the highest audience for an episode of the show since a post-Oscar edition in February 2005.

Comments

[JanetAlstonJackson]

08:03 PM on 01/27/2011

I feel the real message in this show was about forgiveness.  I too found out my mother was keeping a secret.  I didn't know until I was grown, that the man I thought was my father, was really my stepfather who adopted me.  I have never known my real father.  But, like Oprah's mom, my mother felt ashamed that she had me out of wedlock.  There were no talk shows back then where people shared stories about extended families, and kids born out of wedlock. 
Like Oprah's long lost sister, I went through an identity crisis, wondering who is that person in the mirror staring back at me.  Do I have sisters and brothers?  Would my real father want to know me?  Who am I?
While searching for my biological father for years, I  was terrified, but driven by mad curiosity.  Would he reject me?   After my fruitless searching, I gave up looking and I have found inner peace forgiving my mother and my biological father, who ever he is, or was.  I think this is why my husband and I adopted two of our three children. I identify with them and their abandonment issues.   So my "father issue" helped me to have compassion for homeless kids. 
I have summed it all up with this, "If my parents had known better, they would have done better."

[marinatha]

01:00 AM on 01/27/2011

Family is everything.Or its nothing.I do not watch O as a practice,but I caught this one.I remember a long time ago that O said she wished she had a sister.Im not sure if this was prior to her siblings passing or not.But I did feel her pain at the lack of closeness she was missing.So I was over joyed she found she had a sister.Thier is nothing like a sister's reassuring love and support.

[WorkhelpWorkhelp]

12:16 AM on 01/27/2011

I was crying. And you were crying. And you were crying. You are ALL crying!
ha.
Lucky ladies.

[tkj87]

07:29 PM on 01/26/2011

Sounds like a really dysfunctional family.

[bmora]

04:08 PM on 01/26/2011

Yawn.

[american-dolt]

03:11 PM on 01/26/2011

It's "Mini Me".

[susie1776]

02:21 PM on 01/26/2011

I'm happy for Oprah, if she's happy but why did she feel it necessary to announce this to the whole world? Why should I care? This is only a story because Oprah is Oprah. If I were to discover my half sister...no way would anyone be the least bit interested.

[Ronni01]

04:12 PM on 01/26/2011

She announced 1st to keep the tabloids from announcing it. This woman has known that she was Oprah's sister since 2007. Oprah's mom told the woman that she didn't want anything to do with her. She thought it would be damaging to admit that she gave Oprahs sister up. There's a bit of a sensational story behind it.

[bluehand]

07:01 PM on 01/26/2011

"This is only a story because Oprah is Oprah"

You say that, but you know it's not true, because she has had numerous shows with about people reuniting with with birth parents, or finding lost loved ones. As Oprah stated, she wanted to tell the story before the tabloids got hold of it. It's a prety logical reason. If you don't care; why comment?

[brandon ben]

01:49 PM on 01/26/2011

Good for Oprah !!! Always stay true to family

www.hiphophoodcommunity.com

[Ifeomamn]

01:11 PM on 01/26/2011

Ms. Winfrey has told Us all many things about her.

It was her story to tell as she wished.

It was in our power to watch or not.

It is mind boggling that so many of Us are just wilful, crude beings that we must find ulterior motives on others.

It was all about Ms. Winfrey and her half sister to tell or not to tell.

Ms. Winfrey did it her way.

Enough said.

[slogward]

12:42 PM on 01/26/2011

BIG SCANDAL, BIG HEADACHE FOR MURDOCH...
UK COPS ABOUT TO ARREST SENIOR NEWSCORP AIDES FOR PHONE-HACKING -

http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/hackgate-andy-gray-firing-pours-petrol-on-the-flames/

[ethiopia1a]

12:38 PM on 01/26/2011

on one side she say family matter should stay private other side ......?wtf

[Ronni01]

04:13 PM on 01/26/2011

Only the bad matters should stay private

[Clevelandinwi]

12:34 PM on 01/26/2011

The BIG o has turned into the Real Housewives of Chicago - too bad.

[stagebandman]

12:19 PM on 01/26/2011

I get the feeling she's been holding this back for just the right time. I mean, she's got something in the news every week these days!

[GeneQueen]

02:13 PM on 01/26/2011

It's obvious you didn't watch the show. The Oprah show has been on vacation since just before Thanksgiving, and she only met Patricia, for the first time, at Thanksgiving dinner, in Milwaukee, at Patricia's home. The VERY first show she taped this year, was the show about her sister. She wasn't holding anything back. Her sister is delightfully unassuming, funny, warm, selfless, kind and loving. Oprah deserves to have such a wonderful person in her life. Patricia's motivation was to find their MOTHER, not Oprah. Oprah was just icing on the cake. In the end, all three were united and, per Oprah, Patricia goes by their mother's house every single day and has become quite a caregiver.

[Ronni01]

04:17 PM on 01/26/2011

The sister has known that she was sister with Oprah since 2007. According to Oprah the woman never once tried to profit from her story. She patiently waited until she was in contact with someone from her biological family. The mother originally said she didn't want any contact with Patricia because she was ashamed and uncertain of her motives.

[Skiwee]

12:04 PM on 01/26/2011

If you're an entertainer on television, and you're not in the business to garner the highest ratings possible and make wads of money, then why are you there?

[wilray]

01:40 PM on 01/26/2011

To renew the spirit?

[Skiwee]

02:08 PM on 01/26/2011

#380....I'm still laughing.

[sensimilla]

11:34 AM on 01/26/2011

Maybe, just maybe this kind of thing is better for more intimate moments at home? Oh right, Oprah lives in her studio...not.

[GeneQueen]

02:16 PM on 01/26/2011

The intimate moment HAD taken place in Patricia's home, on Thanksgiving. Since several of the nurses at the hospital knew that Patricia has been visiting their mother on a regular basis, Oprah knew the story was going to, eventually, make it out, so she chose to tell the story herself. Patricia had known since 2007, and was turned away three times, by the mother who never wanted to meet her. It was on the insistence of Oprah's nieces that Oprah meet Patricia. Patricia is a delightful person and I hope you'll take the time to watch the interview and see why we were all so pleasantly touched by her loving spirit. Wishing you only the best.

[Promise]

08:04 PM on 01/26/2011

Thanks for this information. I didn't get to watch the show so I appreciate your comments. It sounds like Oprah is lucky to have this woman in her life. I wish them all well!

[bluehand]

07:09 PM on 01/26/2011

You know that had the tabloids got hold of this secret before Oprah was able to tell first they would have gave her whole family grief. It's always better to tell your own story, whether you're a famous talk show host or not. Don't you think?