Oprah’s gift suggestion has divided the world – the world, we say (Picture: Steve Jennings/Getty Images)
Oprah Winfrey has ignited an almighty Christmas debate over how much is too much for a gift, after an interaction with a fan reemerged this week.
In a clip that is racking up views this week, Oprah was approached by Colin Drummond who asked her for some top tips on what to buy his mother for Christmas.
Musing over the question, the 68-year-old talk show host – who, according to Forbes, is worth a tidy $2.5billion (£2bn) – suggested he buy a jewellery box for his mum, after he told her his mother was struggling and he needed inspiration for a festive gift to cheer her up over the holiday.
Oprah replied: ‘A wonderful thing is that jewellery box that I had on Favourite Things (her famous gift ideas list.) A beautiful red jewellery box with a little… .“
When Colin said: ‘That’s too expensive for me’ she protested ‘It’s really not’, adding: ‘It’s like 100 or some dollars.’
He stuck to his opinion it was too much to spend, with Oprah looking surprised he wouldn’t spend $100 (£83) on his mum.
When Colin told her his mother liked ‘sentimental gifts’, Oprah suggested he ‘do a list of your top 10 reasons why you love her, and you make a beautiful card, and it’s your top 10.’
While we have to say the sentimental option is actually really beautiful, debate has raged alongside the clip on TikTok, which has racked up nearly 1 million views, with many divided over the budget and Oprah’s reaction.
Oprah is a self-made billionaire (Picture: Getty Images)
Some have accused the talk show host queen of being ‘out of touch’, with one saying: ‘A billionaire doesn’t understand how it is for the rest of us.’
Echoing similar sentiments, another wrote: ‘She was SHOOK that $100 was too expensive. ‘Do they even make things that cost less than $100?’’ while one added: ‘She said it’s either $100 or it’s nothing.’
However, others said $100 wasn’t too much to spend on an ailing mother, adding her second suggestion was ‘incredibly thoughtful’, while one mused: ‘I think Oprah handled this and answered this very well.’
Another Oprah fan added: ‘Bless her heart. she was trying to help. I love both her suggestions. There was no judgement in her tone or reaction. love her sentimental gift idea,’ and one wrote: ‘Oprah is a billionaire but she gave a gift suggestion that’s $100 .. but y’all saying she’s out of touch lol.’
While it’s not clear when this video was taken, Oprah included a red jewellery box in her 2010 list of Favourite Things, which retailed for $179 (£148). And FYI there are quite a lot of budget-friendly options in her most recent Favourite Things list.
Oprah, one of America’s wealthiest self-made women, is said to makes $300million (£249m) per year and owns $127m (£105m) worth of real estate.
A recent online post revealed her lavish lifestyle, showing the chat show host and her Thanksgiving guests sitting around an 18-person table in the dining room of her 23,000-square-foot California mansion, which was filled with flowers and candles.
Other posts have shown Oprah, who uses a private chef and owns a $75m (£62m) private Gulfstream G650 jet, sipping on wine on her huge porch and enjoying movies in her home cinema, along with her massive walk-in closet.
Her main home is a sprawling mansion in Montecito, near the $14.65m (£12m) home where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex live.
But, hey, if anything this has just got us thinking about some ways to really up our present game, bought or sentimental.
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The people are divided by the clip.
