Tracee Ellis Ross has always been unapologetically about her love life or lack thereof, but a five-year-old comment from media mogul Oprah Winfrey continues to stir up controversy.
The Emmy Award-winning star is now pushing back against labels that attempt to define her worth.
The conversation has gained renewed attention through Ross’s new Roku series “Solo Traveling With Tracee Ellis Ross,” where she addresses Winfrey’s characterization head-on while documenting her solo adventures.
“I mean, Oprah said it. She said that I’m the poster child for singledom. I don’t want to be that,” Ross said in the episodes of the series, her voice carrying both vulnerability and determination.
The original exchange occurred during a 2020 Vision Tour Visionaries interview, where Winfrey told Ross, “A lot of single ladies point to you as an example of what an unmarried woman could and should look like. I imagine that’s not a role you ever thought you’d be playing.”
At the time, Ross responded that she was “choicefully single. Happily, gloriously single.”
The statement cuts to the heart of how successful single women are often reduced to cautionary tales or clinical examples rather than celebrated for their choices.
Instead, the “Girlfriends” star declared she wants to be a shining example for people who live their life to the fullest and prioritize their own needs.
“I want to be the poster child for being an inhabitant in your own skin,” Ross added. “For living in your own skin.”
This powerful reframing shifts the conversation from what society perceives as lacking to what Ross has intentionally cultivated.
Her message resonates even deeper as she explains the richness of her chosen path.
“Yes, I am a single Black woman who does not have children, [but] not having a relationship — long, long relationships — not having children has allowed me to explore things of my own humanity,” Ross shared, offering a perspective that challenges conventional definitions of fulfillment.
When clips from the series appeared on the social media platform Threads, fans unleashed their frustration with Winfrey’s original approach.
“How Oprah talk to Diana Ross daughter like that?,” one user commented.
The criticism intensified as users pointed out perceived hypocrisy in Winfrey’s characterization, highlighting the irony of Winfrey, who has chosen not to marry longtime partner Stedman Graham.
“Oprah is projecting. She’s literally the poster child of singledom, after being with Stedman 50-11 years and still not marrying him. That makes her SINGLE!” one comment read.
Oprah and Stedman #Throwback #Oprah pic.twitter.com/9fqrWzn65S
— 247 Live Culture (@247LC) July 11, 2023
Another said, “I love what Traci Ellis Ross said and I can relate to her! Oprah is single herself, we all know Stedman is a hired companion.”
Another wrote, “Oprah has always been messy! Tracee is very much needed in this generation, in my opinion she’s teaching the girls to ‘decenter’ men! Love yourself, put your needs and dreams first, live for yourself! Love will come in due time, and if it doesn’t, ok, so what?”
The marriage critique continued with another user writing, “If Tracee is the ‘poster child’ what does that make Oprah? I guess Miss Winfrey is the OG of ‘singledom,” while others praised Ross’s dignified response with comments like “Classy clap back by a woman who owns her worth.”
Now 52, Ross has transformed that moment into a platform for deeper conversation about women’s autonomy. Her travel series demonstrates a woman completely comfortable with her own company, showcasing international adventures and her philosophy of not postponing life for societal milestones.
Ross’s rejection of the “singledom” label speaks to a broader cultural shift in how women view independence and success. Her exploration of her own humanity has led to what she describes as “an extraordinary experience that is filled with joy, loneliness, grief, exuberance, delight, like, literally all of it.”
The “black-ish” star’s philosophy centers on present-moment living. “So much of what traveling is about, is for me, not waiting for something in order to walk towards my life, in order to be in my life, in order to experience my life,” she explained.
Through her response to Winfrey’s characterization, Ross has created space for women to reject limiting labels and embrace their authentic selves. By transforming “poster child for singledom” into her vision of being a poster child for authentic living, Ross demonstrates the power of narrative reclamation in a culture that often seeks to diminish women’s choices.
