When normal people tweet about their daily dose of bread, nothing happens. But when Oprah Winfrey tweets about bread — she makes $12 million. Witness the weight-loss industrial complex in action, folks.
On Tuesday, Oprah revealed that she hasn't stopped eating bread. In fact, it's been part of her Weight Watchers program.
Eat bread. Lose weight. Whaaatttt? #ComeJoinMe https://t.co/jUgpk9ToXY
https://t.co/xtnB53EwSf
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) January 26, 2016"Eat bread. Lose weight. Whaatttt? #ComeJoinMe," the tweet read, accompanied by a 30-second video clip of Oprah saying things like, "I lost 26 pounds and I have eaten bread every single day."
USA Today reports that the tweet resulted in a 20% increase in Weight Watchers' share price. That means Oprah, who owns about 10% of the stock, earned $12.5 million dollars from that one tweet.
Setting aside the craziness of those numbers in terms of economics, let's not forget that she's making this money from an industry that literally profits off convincing women that they'll never achieve happiness, success, or satisfaction unless they slim down. Although this video might seem innocuous to some — and sure, we can get behind the idea that carbs are not the enemy — we're still stuck on the opening line from her first 30-second spot: “Inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be.” The idea that there is anyone better or happier inside a woman of any size, if only she could just reach that number on the scale, is a dangerous myth. Knowing the backstory makes the cash she's raking in that much more infuriating, doesn't it?
Setting aside the craziness of those numbers in terms of economics, let's not forget that she's making this money from an industry that literally profits off convincing women that they'll never achieve happiness, success, or satisfaction unless they slim down. Although this video might seem innocuous to some — and sure, we can get behind the idea that carbs are not the enemy — we're still stuck on the opening line from her first 30-second spot: “Inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be.” The idea that there is anyone better or happier inside a woman of any size, if only she could just reach that number on the scale, is a dangerous myth. Knowing the backstory makes the cash she's raking in that much more infuriating, doesn't it?