Oprah Winfrey is best known for her groundbreaking talk show career and continued work as a media mogul and interviewer. The TV legend sat down with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for an explosive interview in 2021, shortly after they retired from royal life and moved their family from the UK to California. Now, Winfrey has revisited the most viral and memorable moment of the historic conversation, which resonated globally and became one of the most quoted moments of the interview.According to Vanity Fair, the most significant exchange in the lengthy interview came when Meghan talked about staying “quiet” about her time with the royal family. “I’ve always valued independence. I’ve always been open-minded, especially about women’s rights,” the Duchess of Sussex said at the time. “I mean, that’s the sad irony of the last four years, I’ve advocated for so long for women to use their voices. And then I went silent.“
The Sussexes’ historic TV interview remains one of the most talked about royal conversations in recent years. Image Credit (Instagram)
Oprah Winfrey’s iconic “shut up or shut up” question went viralOprah memorably responded with a clarifying question that would define the interview: “Did you shut up or were you silenced?” The exchange became one of the most quoted and discussed moments of the interview, resonating with audiences around the world and sparking a meaningful conversation about Meghan’s experience within the royal family. “The latter,” Meghan replied, confirming her belief that she had been prevented from speaking rather than choosing silence.Winfrey mimicked the hand gesture he made while asking the pointed question. “I don’t know where the hell that came from. I don’t think I’ve done it since,” he admitted with a laugh. He then reflected on why he asked Meghan to clarify her statement at this time. “I wanted to be clear, why was she silenced? Were people telling her not to talk?” Winfrey explained. “I said it to clarify, because I didn’t want to hear afterwards: ‘Well, no, it wasn’t that.’ It was really that they shut me up. They wouldn’t let me speak. So it was all for clarification.” His explanation demonstrated his journalistic instincts and his desire to ensure accuracy and clarity in the historical record of the conversation.
Oprah Winfrey looked back on the question that became one of the defining moments of her 2021 interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Image Credit (Instagram)
Oprah Winfrey explains her approach to the 2021 interview“They didn’t know, obviously, anything I was going to ask them, but I had told them ahead of time, ‘I’m going to try to cover everything,'” Winfrey recalled of her preparation for the interview. “This interview lasted three and a half hours. And as always with me, I want it to be a win-win for you. So I was just trying to carefully review everything that had come up in the past.” His comments highlighted the intentional and thoughtful approach he took to the conversation with the couple, setting the stage for the candid revelations that would follow.The seaside town of Montecito, where Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44, were now neighbors of Winfrey, 72, had been the scene of the landmark interview in which the couple opened up about their reasons for leaving royal life behind.
Other bomb moments and ongoing royal family tensions
Other explosive moments in the interview included the couple’s revelation that there had been “concerns and conversations” within the royal family about the birth of their first child, Prince Archie, and how dark his skin color might be. The 2021 interview also hinted at the rift between Prince Harry and his brother Prince William, which has continued to this day. More than five years later, the siblings have remained incommunicado, although Harry’s recent visits to the UK marked the first steps towards a reconciliation with King Charles, with sources saying “the relationship is better” between father and son.