Obama Reviews Oprah in ‘The Butler’: ‘My Girl, She Can Act’

President Obama loved Lee Daniels’ latest film, “The Butler.“ More importantly, he loved his “girl” Oprah Winfrey in “The Butler.”

During an interview with radio hosts Tom Joyner and Sybill Wilkes at the Oval Office, the president said of the media mogul, “My girl, she can act.”

Another favorite for the president was Cuba Gooding Jr. According to the New York Daily News:  “His favorite parts of the movie were the jokes by Cuba Gooding Jr., who played a member of the White House serving staff, and the president added, star Forest Whitaker ‘was wonderful’.”

Obama admitted he also shed a few tears over the story of Cecil Gaines, the African-American man who served countless presidents but endured discrimination throughout his lifetime.

After Obama’s 2008 election, many believed we lived in post-racial society, however the president stressed that the impact of Jim Crow was very real and opportunities are still lost for many today.

“An entire generation of people … were talented and skilled, but because of Jim Crow, because of discrimination, there was only so far they could go. It’s not enough just to have a black president,” he added, “The question is, does the ordinary person, day-to-day, can they succeed?”

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top