Oprah Was 'Too Emotional' for 60 Minutes

During her short stint at 60 Minutes, Oprah Winfrey "did seven takes on just my name." It was a sign that the show "was not the best format for me," the former talk show host tells the Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Tuesday. She says she left the show after her pronunciation of her name was viewed as "too emotional." It was "a deja vu moment" that took her back to a time when as a young reporter she was told a story she'd written about a family who lost their home had "too much emotion." "I was working on pulling myself down and flattening out my personality—which, for me, is actually not such a good thing," Winfrey said.

Winfrey said her energy would instead be invested in a collaboration with Apple. "Maybe at some point there will be a regular series," the 65-year-old teased. "Right now, I'd probably want to sit down and talk to Butta." That's one of the names she has for Pete Buttigieg, aka "Buttabeep, Buttaboop." She said she's reading his book Shortest Way Home and researching fellow 2020 Democratic presidential candidates—"quietly figuring out where I'm going to use my voice in support." Her goal: "something better for all of us," she said Tuesday as she received the Hollywood Reporter's Empowerment in Entertainment Award in Los Angeles, per USA Today. (More Oprah Winfrey stories.)