Oprah Winfrey Won’t Allow Friends to Use N-Word: ‘I Feel Strongly About It.’

Don’t use the N-word around Oprah! She will banish you from the country. Okay maybe not, but she might disown you as a friend. In an article in Parade magazine, Oprah Winfrey explained why she hated hearing the N-word used around her in every day conversations. As a star in the upcoming movie “The Butler,” she also explained why she felt the need to school her own director, Lee Daniels on his word choice. Daniel said he used the N-word on a regular basis until the 59-year-old television host sat him down

and talked about its power.

In Parade magazine (which hits shelves Aug. 4th), she also acknowledged the fact those close to her, can not use the word:

You cannot be my friend and use that word around me. It shows my age, but I feel strongly about it. I always think of the millions of people who heard that as their last word as they were hanging from a tree.

She continued:

Do we live in a land where Martin Luther King’s dream has been ultimately fulfilled? No. Has part of the dream been fulfilled? Are more people judged by the content of their character than by the color of their skin? Yes. Is everybody judged by the content of their character? Absolutely not.

Oprah may have a problem with certain words from the past, but that hasn’t stopped her political influence. The TV-mogul is endorsing Newark, New Jersey mayor Cory Booker. The democratic representative is running for a spot in the United States Senate, and Oprah is spreading the word by holding a fundraiser for him. Oprah and the New Jersey mayor have been good friends for a while. Oprah even went so far as to dub him a “rock star mayor” on her show. Along with Oprah’s support, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced a $100 million gift to Newark schools. Booker is now in the lead to replace the late Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

[USMagazine, APNews, Instagram]

-@_DeeRoberts