The media mogul and her friends -- including author Elizabeth Gilbert, OWN star Iyanla Vanzant and, in certain cities, Deepak Chopra -- plot an eight-city weekend tour to bring "empowerment, resilience and authenticity" at $99 to $999 per ticket.
This story first appeared in the April 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
The Oprah Winfrey experience is coming to an arena near you.
Starting in September, Winfrey will set out on an eight-city Oprah's The Life You Want Weekend tour. The plan: pack 18,000-seat arenas for a two-day experience featuring a keynote by Winfrey, who will share her personal story and advice on Friday night, and group activities and speakers picked by her on Saturday. Among those signed to participate: Eat Pray Love author Elizabeth Gilbert, pastor Rob Bell, OWN star Iyanla Vanzant and, in certain cities, guru Deepak Chopra.
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"There's no question that Oprah's supreme gift is connecting with an audience," says OWN president Sheri Salata of the impetus for the tour, which will allow Winfrey to interact with her fans in a way she hasn't since she ended her daily Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011. She will make tour stops in Atlanta; Auburn Hills, Mich.; Houston; Miami; Newark, N.J.; Seattle; San Jose, Calif.; and Washington, with tickets starting at $99 and rising to $999 for VIP packages that can include meeting Winfrey. (Tickets will go on sale April 7 on a relaunched Oprah.com.)
Winfrey tells THR a domestic tour has been atop her "bucket list" since she finished a speaking circuit in Canada in early 2013. Although Life You Want will be much larger in scale, her message remains the same. "It's about living the life you want, because a great percentage of the population is living a life that their mother wanted, that their husband wanted, that they thought or heard they wanted," says Winfrey, adding that she will use the platform to push themes of "empowerment, resilience and authenticity."
Is this for real? Who would pay money to listen to her? Is Oprah running for President? Or is this all under the guse of campaigning for democrats?
I think the Rev. Manning was on to something when he said Oprah is an anti-christ.
This is crazy.
