Oprah Winfrey Reflects on Explosive Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Interview — And Mocks the Infamous Hand Gesture She Made During the Tell-All
Oprah Winfrey made rare comments about her interview with Meghan Markle.
July 22 2026, Updated 1:34 p.m. ET
Oprah Winfrey made rare comments about her bombshell 2021 interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry as she pointed out one specific detail that left her baffled, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Vanity Fair showed Winfrey, 72, a series of "scenes" from her most memorable TV moments, including her famous "you get a car!" 2004 giveaway on her former daytime talk show.
Oprah Winfrey Watches Playback of Her Meghan Markle Interview
Oprah Windrey sat quietly watching a controversial scene play out from her Meghan Markle interview.
While the former host cheered, "I love this, love this, love this," about the screaming audience members discovering they all received free cars, she appeared far less thrilled about being shown a much-talked-about clip from her interview with Markle where she asked the Duchess of Sussex if she was "silenced" by Buckingham Palace.
Winfrey sat quietly while watching the scene of the former actress saying, "I've always valued independence. I've always been outspoken, especially about women's rights. I mean, that's the sad irony of the past four years, because I've advocated for so long for women to use their voice, and then...I was silent."
Oprah Winfrey Mocks Her Own 'Silenced' Hand Gesture
Oprah Winfrey claimed she hasn't used the hand gesture from the Meghan Markle interview since 2021.
Winfrey put her left index finger and thumb together to ask Markle, "Were you silent, or silenced?" as she moved her hand in a zipping motion below her mouth.
Markle nodded and replied, "The latter."
"Okay, very nice," Winfrey said as the clip ended, and she mocked the hand motion she made five years ago by doing it once again.
"I don't think I've done it since," the media mogul shared while repeating the movement. "I don't know where the h--- that came from."
Oprah Winfrey Said She Wanted 'Clarification' With 'Silenced' Question
Oprah Winfrey revealed why she asked if Meghan Markle was 'silenced.'
Addressing the infamous viral moment, Winfrey defended herself for asking the question.
"I wanted to be clear, because was she silenced? Were people telling her not to talk? That's why I said that," she explained. "I said it for clarification, because I didn't want later to hear 'Well no, it wasn't that. (It) really was that I was silenced. They wouldn't let me talk.'"
The OWN network founder folded her arms and leaned back in her chair with a serious expression as she repeated, "So, it was all for clarification."
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'None of That Interview Was Clarified'
Oprah Winfrey was roasted in the comments section over her interview with Meghan Markle.
Winfrey was hammered in the comments section of the post for not following up on many of Markle's claims about her allegedly oppressive life within the royal family. Several even called it her "worst interview ever."
"There was way more that needed clarification in that interview and yet, we were left with a lot of implied references, half-truths and lies," one critic claimed.
"Clarification….none of that interview was clarified!!!" a second person wrote.
"Why now! She didn’t actually clarify anything. Just went along with whatever Meghan told her," a third person scoffed
"Wow, she looks like she is embarrassed about this interview," a fourth person observed, while a fifth alleged, "And THIS is all for damage-control."
