Watching the Derek Chauvin trial, Oprah Winfrey had “flashbacks of Emmett Till.”
The 67-year-old talk show host confessed to being moved by the police officer’s conviction in the murder of George Floyd, saying she saw parallels between the case and the lynching of a 14-year-old African American in 1955.
She expressed the following in an upcoming interview with Dr. Oz, which was previewed by the New York Post’s “Page Six” column: “I watched the verdict live — like so many other people around the world.
“I started to tear up and I asked myself, ‘Where is this emotion coming from?’ And I was having … flashbacks of Emmett Till and all the names that we’ve heard protesters speak for.”
The night before the verdict, Winfrey had a dream about Till, who was lynched after a White woman accused him of flirting with her.
In the dream, Winfrey explained that “we were all on a bus together and the bus blew up.”
She added: “And so I wake in that morning like, what does that mean? And does that mean this whole trial is going to blow up…?
“So I went to bed [after the verdict] thinking about Emmett Till and the fact that he never received justice. And this moment was a sacrifice for all of the people who didn’t receive justice.”
Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree accidental murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree homicide earlier this month.
In June, the former police officer, whose conduct caused anti-racism demonstrations around the world, will be convicted.
Winfrey’s reaction to the verdict was as follows: “I cried tears of joy as each verdict was read. I’m grateful to the witnesses and their testimonies.”
