Loose Women's Gloria Hunniford accused of fat-shaming Oprah

The TV presenter has attracted criticism for comments she made about Oprah Winfrey's weight.

Gloria Hunniford poses for a photograph after accepting a cheque for £26,000 from the Hard Rock Cafe in donation to The Caron Keating Foundation ahead of the annual PINKTOBER campaign at Hard Rock Cafe on November 16, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Gloria Hunniford has been accused of 'fat-shaming' Oprah. (Getty Images)

What did you miss?

Gloria Hunniford has come under fire for comments she made about Oprah Winfrey's weight.

The Loose Women panel were discussing the chat show host, actor and author to mark her 70th birthday. Hunniford made a remark praising Oprah for looking "great" because she deemed her to be currently "very, very thin". Hunniford has since been accused of fat shaming by some viewers.

What, how, and why?

Oprah Winfrey speaks onstage at The 29th Critics' Choice Awards held at The Barker Hangar on January 14, 2024 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
Oprah Winfrey at the Critics' Choice Awards in January 2024. (Getty Images)

Loose Women celebrated Oprah Winfrey's 70th birthday by discussing the chat show host and producer. Hunniford, 83, praised her interviewing skills, saying she asks brilliant questions and brings out the whole story. She also remarked: "Oprah fluctuates a lot. Sometimes she's very overweight and now she looks great. She's very, very thin."

One wrote on social media platform X: "@loosewomen so Oprah/women only look fantastic when they're very thin???" Another said: "Gloria is AWFUL!! Majorly overweight… Why even make that comment!! #loosewomen" One commented: "She looks fantastic. She's very very thin". Okaaaaay..... #loosewomen" And another posted: "#loosewomen totally agree,,,, very telling of Gloria’s priorities that this is the first thing which comes to mind when she thinks of Oprah." And added: "Gloria being a little fatphobic like her beloved Cliff Richard #loosewomen"

Gloria Hunniford is a panelist on Loose Women. (ITV)
Gloria Hunniford is a panellist on Loose Women. (ITV)

Singer Sir Cliff Richard was recently accused of fat-shaming Elvis Presley.

Yahoo UK has contacted a representative for Hunniford for comment.

Oprah has been open about her personal weight struggles. She has been a Weight Watchers ambassador, published her own cookbook Food Health and Happiness and been open about taking weight-loss medication. In December 2023 she told People magazine: "It was public sport to make fun of me for 25 years. I have been blamed and shamed, and I blamed and shamed myself... I didn’t feel angry. I felt sad. I felt hurt. I swallowed the shame. I accepted that it was my fault."

In the same interview, she admitted to using weight-loss medication to achieve her current shape, saying: . I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way."

Read more: Loose Women