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Oprah's Emmy nom for 'unethical' Prince Harry and Meghan Markle interview slammed

Oprah Winfrey bagged her eighth Emmy nomination for the bombshell interview with Harry and Meghan Markle about the royal family

Oprah Winfrey bagged yet another Emmy nomination, this time for her bombshell interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. On July 13, the Emmy Awards announced their list of nominees for 2021, and it was of little surprise to see Oprah's name on the list. The interview has been nominated in the Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series Or Special category, making it her eighth nomination overall.

The 2020 Emmys were quite a surprise for fans. 'Schitt's Creek' ended up with seven awards out of eight nominations in 2020, all in the comedy category. Zendeya made history, by becoming the youngest actress to bag an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama award for her role in HBO’s ‘Euphoria'. In 2020, Kelly Clarkson bagged her first Emmy for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host. 

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The 2021 nomination marks the return of Oprah to the Emmys, after her last nomination in 2019. This year, there are several shows that are competing for multiple awards. Notably, 'The Crown' and 'The Mandalorian' led the way with a whopping 24 nominations each. They are followed by 'Lovecraft Country' with 18 nominations, and several for 'WandaVision', 'Ted Lasso' and 'The Handmaid's Tale'. However, it is Oprah who got many talking.

Oprah's interview was viewed by 49.1M

The bombshell interview, aired on CBS, was seen by over 49.1M viewers worldwide when it debuted in March. It was Harry and Meghan's first since leaving the royal family, adding to the excitement of viewers. The couple opened up about their decision to step back from the family, and move stateside even though it was amid the Covid-19 pandemic. From allegations of racism to a lack of support for "suicidal" Meghan, the couple's revelations left the royal family as well as the viewers shocked. 

Apart from a short statement, the royal family is yet to comprehensively respond to the allegations, which reportedly soured the relationship between Harry and Prince William. It is believed they want their own interview, but so far there has been no confirmation of a sit-down by any member. Nonetheless, the royal family's turmoil ended up being Oprah's gain, as she bagged the exclusive after missing out on interviewing Princess Diana back in the '90s. 

Oprah's got some competition for the award though. Also nominated in the nonfiction series category are 'My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman', Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy', 'United Shades of Amerca With Kamau Bell', and 'Vice'. Should Oprah win, it would be her second Emmy award, after winning the Outstanding Made For Television Movie in 2000 for 'Oprah Winfrey Presents: Tuesdays With Morrie'. Oprah was also honored with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2002 and elected to the Hall of Fame in 2004. 

'The palace is shaking right now' 

News of the nomination was quick to travel to the Twitterverse, where fans were extremely excited. "This is now officially an Emmy Nominated interview! Congrats to Oprah and her team and thank you to Harry and Meghan for being so vulnerable and open," one person tweeted along with the interview trailer. One excited user just tweeted, "Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah got an Emmy nomination, YASSSSSSSSSSSS!!!"

One user shared a photo of Prince William, Kate and George from the Euro finals with the caption, "royal family when they saw meghan’s interview with oprah was nominated for an emmy award." Another joked, "Prince Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview is nominated for an Emmy - the palace is shaking rn."

Others, however, were less pleased with the nomination. "Unbelievable the Oprah Winfrey interview with H&M nominated for an Emmy? It was not great journalism, she did not really interview them it was a rehearsed slap at Harry's family,17 lies told (proven) never challenged, ludicrous nomination! Emmy ethics?" one person tweeted. Another said, "It’s a sad day when an interview with a pair of desperate people seeking publicity with an equally desperate interviewer are nominated for an Emmy award, next people will be nominating Barnaby Joyce."

A nomination is not exactly a win, but fans of Harry and Meghan seemed pleased with the news nonetheless. Whether Oprah will win, we will know only in September. A date and venue for this year's awards ceremony is yet to be finalized. We should know more by August.