Oprah Winfrey Employees Who Were Fans Would Be Rejected, Staffer Claims

Oprah Winfrey is not into hiring fans to work at her media empire.

Being an Oprah Winfrey fan did not help you if you happened to work for the media mogul. Insiders say any sign of admiring the OWN founder served as a first-class ticket out the door!

Fortune reports that a former staffer is opening up about the treatment potential employees would receive if they let slip how much they loved the billionaire magnate. According to Jeff Boodie, who worked for Winfrey from 2007 to 2010, anyone who inquired about meeting Winfrey would earn a spot among the rejects.

During Boodie’s time working as a business coordinator for Oprah Magazine (now Oprah Daily), he noticed the types of people who made it to the final rounds of hiring and those who didn’t last long.

“We were excited to be part of Oprah’s team, but we weren’t fans,” Boodie revealed in a personal essay for Business Insider. “I knew right away that there was intentionality on who was being hired.”

“I saw firsthand how anyone more concerned about how often she was in the office or when they’d get to meet her would not make it to the final rounds of hiring,” he recalled.

The experience taught Boodie how important it was not to worship celebrities because they were still regular people. He also found it “crazy” how many people would ask to meet Winfrey while still interviewing with the company.

“I learned from Oprah that to work for someone like her, be great, but don’t be a fan,” Boodie wrote.

“Be aware that you were a part of the team inspiring the world with life-changing messaging, but it wasn’t your position to get so swept up in working for an influential person that you couldn’t do your job.”

Having worked with other celebrities and even royals, Boodie saw firsthand how rare it was for an influential figure to amplify anyone who wasn’t themselves. However, that wasn’t the case with Winfrey. Her reputation for turning her friends into reputable public figures is well deserved.

“Oprah had and still can uplift experts and allow them to be stand-alone stars,” Boodie wrote about Winfrey’s friends and frequent show quests, Suze Orman, Dr. Phil, and Gayle King, among others.

“She pushed experts up front and celebrated their findings on various topics for her and the audience,” he added. “To me, that was genius. Let experts be experts. No one knows everything, and witnessing her curiosity and ability to let others shine made me realize how special it was to work for her.”

It’s an experience Boodie took with him as he became an entrepreneur himself and launched his own media agency, ConnectUp Media Agency.

“I carry this lesson with me still: lifting others up and not worrying about their stardom,” he concluded.