Oprah and Snoop Dogg Reportedly Settle Their Differences on Accusations of Misogyny

Oprah and Jay Z may be BFF now, but there was a time when Oprah was not hesitant to express her distate for the misogyny in the genre. While Oprah invited hip hop artists like Kanye West, Puff Daddy, and LL Cool J on her show, she made it clear that she would not tolerate certain discourse in the music. On her eponymous show back in the late-2000s, Oprah publicly called out rap artists like 50 Cent, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg for their misogynistic lyrics.

 In 2006, she told MTV: "I respect other people's rights to do whatever they want to do in music and art. ... I don't want to be marginalized by music or any form of art. ... I feel rap is a form of expression, as is jazz. I'm not opposed to rap. I'm opposed to being marginalized as a woman."

The next year she dedicated a series of shows to exploring the damaging effects of some rap lyrics.

And the beef was mutual. Rappers like Ice Cube accused Oprah of judging them and their art unfairly.  In 2008 Snoop said: "I don't like her no more. I really was offended, because I kind of like her." said the rapper. "Liked her. I'm very articulate, very intellectual. She didn't even get a chance to even know me."

On Friday, Oprah and Snoop posted pictures to their respective Instagram accounts signaling that the two had resolved their differences. Or at least that's widely drawn conclusion. The picture was taken at a pre-Ocars party in Los Angeles.



Maybe Oprah changed her mind on the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg or perhaps Oprah was just feeling high-spirited at this particular party and agreed to the photo. But it is certainly interesting to think about the ways our views on rap evolve.

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Kimberly Foster is the founder and editor of For Harriet. Email or Follow @KimberlyNFoster