Oprah Winfrey Keeps It All The Way Real About That Unseasoned Chicken Clip

When an old clip of Oprah Winfrey being forced to chomp on unseasoned chicken on the set of her eponymous talk show went viral, the internet went nuts. Gifs were created, recipes were swapped, and debates were had about what the media mogul was really thinking.

The now-viral clip even got the attention of Winfrey herself, making her share what was running through her mind when the winner of the Pillsbury Bake-Off $1 million prize, Anna Ginsberg, turned to her and asked, “Do you like it?”

 “I don’t know what ever made you pull that tape out of the vault, but [it] made me laugh and here’s the deal,” she began in a video posted to Oprah magazine’s Instagram.

Winfrey explained that she didn’t want to shame Ginsberg because she wanted everyone appearing on her show to feel welcome.

“I always wanted anybody who came on the show, no matter what they did, to have a good experience,” she said.

That desire prompted Winfrey to respond to Ginsberg’s question with the lease amount of shade possible — a difficult task without the help of Mrs. Dash. 

“And I also wanted to stay in my own truth while allowing them to have that good experience. I was having a moment of trying to decide: do I want her to have a great time? What is my real moment of truth?” she explained. “Because the truth for me was that I am used to having salt and pepper on my chicken. That’s just the truth. That’s what I was thinking: this chicken needs some salt and pepper.”