No, Oprah Winfrey's Contest Didn't Cheat for the Black Woman

Oprah Winfrey is running a contest called "My Own Show Contest," which helps Oprah-wannabes compete for a chance to have their own show on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). The contest is a great promotional tool for the new network, built on the problematic use of the hopes and dreams of those who may not understand how the entertainment industry actually works.

Personally, I admit that I never believe these contests to be truly fair, since some of them are decided before they even begin. I am not saying that this is the case with Oprah, but it happens more often than you think. Oprah was recently accused of rigging her contest in favor of an African American teacher. Zach Anner, a disabled comedian, was a strong favorite in the contest until June 22, 2010, when the second place candidate, Dr. Phyllis, received over 300,000 votes in just one hour. Geekosystem reported that there were irregularities in the voting, since she was getting multiple votes for every one vote she actually received. Dr. Phyllis is also black, which makes the controversy that much more troubling for Oprah and her audience.

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Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

Twenty Years of Beautiful at Any Size
Consistently ranked as one of the richest and most powerful women in the world -- even credited with giving President-elect Obama over one million votes -- Oprah Winfrey has indeed risen to heights heretofore thought unimaginable. As with all of humanity, though, Oprah has had one very persistent and public struggle, and that is with her weight, which has fluctuated through the years, unlike her meteoric star. As we chronicle her looks over a 20-year period, you'll see that Winfrey remains smart about choosing styles that compliment her figure at any size. There should be NO shame in her game!

Text by Hayat Mohamed, Photo editor, Denyse Clarke

AP, Getty Images

BlackVoices.com

Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

November 1988
In 1988, two years after the debut of her highly successful talk show, Oprah was at her lowest weight ever, dropping an astounding 68 pounds. Who could forget the day she unveiled her new figure on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' along with a wagon carrying 68-pounds of fat?

Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

January 1991
Three years after her amazing weight loss, Oprah fell off track and packed on some extra pounds. Her petite figure was history at in 1991 at the Daytime Emmy Awards, of which the undisputed talk show queen has won many.

Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

May 1994
"Three" seems to be the magic word for Oprah -- or maybe "corsets"... At the 1994 Emmy Awards, the media mogul showed off a tiny waist and sculpted arms in a form-fitting dress.

Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

May 1995
A failed diet regimen or a poorly-cut dress? Whatever the reason, it appeared that Ms. Winfrey's Emmy count wasn't the only thing climbing that year. When she received her award at the Daytime Emmy Awards her hips appear to have widened noticeably from the year before. She still stands triumphant.

Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

February 1996
Ms. O's waistline was looking rather slim at the 68th Academy Awards in a navy blue fitted satin gown in 1996. Eleven years prior, Winfrey was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Sophia in 'The Color Purple.' Since then, she has starred in and produced several films.

Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

September 2003
Oprah arrived to the 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2002 in a mellow yellow dress and her constant companion Stedman Graham, her man since 1986. Despite the added weight she was simply radiant on the red carpet. There goes that corset again!

Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

January 2003
In 2003, Oprah managed to stabilize her weight. Maybe it's the slimming choice of black but she looked as if she had dropped a few pounds when she was spotted attending the American Auction at the Metropolitan in NYC.

Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

February 2003
A month later, Ms. Winfrey was looking pretty fierce on the red carpet of the Association of American Publishers Honors Awards in a clingy red dress. By the looks of it, O was definitely hitting the gym.

Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

August 2004
The year 2004 rang in a new do and a new waist for Oprah. She had no problem strutting her stuff at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Gala. Forget the color black, we give props to Oprah's diet and fitness plan.

Oprah Winfrey Fashion Transformation

Apparently, there were some who investigated the vote button codes for Dr. Phyllis and Zach Anner, finding that the term "EID" was used. It was initially believed that "EID" stood for "Employee Identification." But it later turned out that it stood for "Entity Identification." So, the theory that Oprah's employees were the ones driving the vote change was nixed pretty quickly.

Another reason that it doesn't appear that Oprah cheated anyone is that the contest rules don't automatically allow the winner to be the person with the highest number of votes. Actually, the top five finalists are evaluated by a panel of judges, who make the final decision.

The obvious financial benefit of having a contest to get a show on a network is that it is a natural and easy viral promotional tool: each participant, thinking they have a chance to be the next Oprah Winfrey, sends their application out to all their friends, so you have a few million new people hearing about the Oprah Winfrey Network. The other benefit is that the viewers actually feel that they have a chance at fame and fortune.

The downside of having a contest like this one is that allegations of cheating can undermine your brand (some members of Oprah's audience may not be happy to believe that she was biased in favor of a black person. She already lost viewers after backing Barack Obama), and there are quite a few tech-savvy people out there who know how to give you 100,000 votes with the push of a button.

Personally, I've seen enough behind-the-scenes corruption to have very little faith in contests like this one. Again, this is not to say that Oprah is a cheater, but I believe that the way to obtain fame and fortune is through consistent, hard work. It doesn't usually happen overnight when you are discovered by Oprah and made into an instant celebrity. The road to success is not paved with fairytales.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the new book, "Black American Money." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.