Oprah Winfrey reveals her brother Jeffrey died of AIDS in the 1980s as she shares moving Pride month post: ‘The world was an extremely cruel place’
Oprah Winfrey took the rare step of speaking out about her late brother Jeffrey on Tuesday when she shared a Pride month post with fans online.
The 70-year-old media mogul – who recently hosted the wedding of best friend Gayle King’s son – appeared in a video clip shared to her Oprah Daily Instagram account.
The caption included a quote from the former talk show host: “I wish you the continued freedom to reach your truest, highest expression of yourself as a human being.”
Winfrey aptly wore a white sweater with a rainbow knitted across it as she spoke into the camera.
“It was 35 years ago that my younger brother, Jeffrey Lee, died of AIDS,” she said at the beginning of the recording.
Oprah Winfrey took the rare step of speaking out about her late brother Jeffrey on Tuesday when she shared a Pride month post with fans online
“It was 35 years ago that my younger brother, Jeffrey Lee, died of AIDS,” she said at the beginning of the recording
She continued to the page’s 3.3 million followers: ‘He was 29 years old. It was 1989 and the world was an extremely cruel place, not just for people suffering from AIDS, but for LGBTQ people in general.”
Winfrey said of her beloved sibling, “I often think that if he had lived, he would be so amazed at how much the world has changed, that gay marriage and a Pride month actually exist.
“How different his life would have been if he had lived times, in a world that saw and appreciated him for who he was, instead of trying to shame him for his sexuality.”
Oprah stated, “I believe that every person has the right to love who they want to love and to be the person they most want to be.”
Speaking directly to her audience, she added, “My hope for you is that you live a life that feels authentic to you and that you have the support around you to do that, regardless of your sexuality.”
The billionaire entrepreneur said firmly, “Whether you celebrate Pride this month or always, I wish you the continued freedom to achieve your true, highest expression of yourself as a human being.”
The uplifting words have racked up more than 20,000 likes so far.
The post comes after Oprah honored her brother in her acceptance speech for the GLAAD Awards in March.
The post comes after Oprah honored her brother in her acceptance speech for the GLAAD Awards in March
Winfrey defended the LGBTQ community in her stirring speech
The Color Purple actress and producer received the Vanguard Award at the annual ceremony, which was held in Beverly Hills.
In tribute to her brother, she shared with the audience, “Growing up in the time that we did, in the community that we had, we didn’t have the language to understand or speak about sexuality and gender in the way that we do that now.
“And at the time, I didn’t know how deeply my brother internalized the shame he felt about his homosexuality. I wish he could have lived through these liberated times and been here with me tonight.”
She added: “For me, all the years of the Oprah Show have been about sharing stories that helped people be their authentic selves… and I know that this is the truest form of what it means to be free, to be personal to have freedom, to be fully who you are.’