Once an advocate for access to abortion as a necessary and basic medical right, Oz has now spoken out in favor of overturning Roe v. But as with his show, he relies more on the aura of expertise than on his medical knowledge to draft his political positions.
Winfrey was one of the first and most important figures in the influencer economy, emerging long before social media made “the influencer” a legitimate (albeit often mocked) career path.Ĭurrently running for the Senate as a Republican, Oz continues to rely on his reputation as a board-certified surgeon and television doctor as the basis of his campaign. And that culture now merges with electoral politics, a sign of the new types of trust and authority that are shaping politics in the United States.
Since the mid-1980s, Winfrey has reigned over a media empire that values emotional and faith-based revelations and helps build a culture of well-being and spiritualism, now an important feature of middle and upper class life in United States. Their nominations are unusual not because they are artists turned politicians – a career arc with a long history in the United States – but because of their emergence from the very specific cultural context of Oprah’s world. Williamson, a spiritualist and author who rose to fame as Winfrey’s spiritual advisor, was vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, while Winfrey’s health expert Oz, just announced his candidacy for one of the seats of the United States Senate in Pennsylvania.