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*While in New York to promote tonight’s airing of her “Legends Ball” special, Oprah Winfrey went on Ed Lover's Power 105.1 radio show Thursday to clear up misconceptions about her stance on hip hop, which has recently been the source of criticism from rappers Ludacris and 50 Cent.
"I listen to some hip-hop. I've been accused of not liking hip-hop and that's just not true," she said, according to Allhiphop.com. "I got a little 50 [Cent] in my iPod. I really do. I like 'In Da Club.' Have you heard the beat to 'In Da Club'? Love that, love Jay-Z, love Kanye, love Mary J. Mary J. is one of my friends."
However, Winfrey had obvious issues with recent guest Ludacris, who told GQ magazine that his experience on her show to promote his film “Crash” was uncomfortable to say the least. He was grilled by the TV maven over his use of the N-word in his lyrics. In the May issue of GQ, he said Winfrey edited out some of his answers and felt that her questioning was way out of line because he was appearing on the show as an actor, not a rapper.
Winfrey said she attempted to explain her position to Ludacris during a post-show conversation backstage.
"I said 'Look Ludacris, you are so smart. You are one of the brilliant guys. I used to have the Klan on and the skinheads on and I looked out in the audience and I saw contact being made between the guys in the audience and the stage and they were like, 'Yeah get her, get her, get her, Bud,'" she said. "At that moment, I was doing nobody any good [by] putting those people on because I realized that that platform was being seen and heard by a lot of people who weren't as smart as I am.”
"My idea was, I want y'all to know that this is what's going on," Winfrey continued. "And I said to Ludacris, 'A lot of people who listen to your music aren't as smart as you are. So they take some of that stuff literally when you are just writing it for entertainment purposes.'"
Lover vowed to Winfrey that he would never again use the word 'b***h,’ while the billionaire acknowledged that hip hop’s global impact is undeniable.
"Years and years ago, Quincy Jones and I had this conversation about the evolution of hip-hop and what it really means to our culture," Winfrey said. "Hip-Hop is like jazz and gospel music, evolved from the people, a form of protest, a form of expression so you can't deny that, nor would I try. But I do believe there needs to be awareness of who we are, how we got here and what that means about staying here."
Continuing to promote her must see/must TiVo two-hour “Legends Ball” at 8 p.m. tonight, a screening of the special was held in New York Thursday for those who participated in the event, including Mariah Carey, Tyra Banks and birthday girl, Janet Jackson.
Miss Jackson, who arrived at the venue on the arm of boyfriend Jermaine Dupri, wore a black vintage Aliah suit that showed off her newly slimmed down waist.
“I just went in my closet and threw it on,” Janet told Access Hollywood’s Tim Vincent.
For her 40th birthday tomorrow, Jackson tells AH she plans to “party, I guess.”
“Oprah Winfrey’s Legend’s Ball” chronicles the event Oprah hosted at her Montecito ranch last year to honor the women who have inspired her throughout the years, including Ruby Dee, Cicely Tyson, Tina Turner, Maya Angelou, Leontyne Price, Diana Ross, the late Rosa Parks and the late Coretta Scott King.
Winfrey also invited along a number of “youngins,” or notable women from the next generation to help honor the legends.
“There is a moment when Halle Berry, Tina Turner, Maya Angelou and Cicely Tyson – and there is Roberta Flack and there is Mary J. Blige and Gladys Knight – and I thought ‘Oh my God they are all in your living room!’” she said.
Dressed in a long black Ferre skirt and simple white Anne Fontaine blouse, Oprah was asked about a singing diva noticeably absent from the lavish affair – Whitney Houston.
“She was invited last year and she was invited again this year,” Oprah said with a shrug. When asked if she has reached out to Houston or knows if she is OK, Oprah replied, “I can’t say that I know she is OK.”
Meanwhile, Winfrey joins Steven Spielberg and Angelina Jolie atop Forbes.com's list of Hollywood's 10 most generous entertainers. The trio donated a collective $58 million over the last two years to respective causes, most notably disaster relief in the wake of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.
Citing numbers from the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Forbes.com reports that Oprah gave about $52 million in charitable donations in 2005 alone. She gave a total of $36 million to her Oprah Winfrey Foundation, which supports women and children's programs. An additional $3.5 million went to Oprah's Angel Network, which she founded in 1998 to encourage fans and fellow celebs to be more philanthropic, and she donated $10 million to aid victims ravaged by Katrina last year.