No, Oprah Winfrey didn’t say she’s leaving the United States before inauguration day

Media magnate Oprah Winfrey endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election. 

But claims Winfrey vowed to leave the United States after President-elect Donald Trump prevailed are unfounded. 

“Oprah Winfrey announces she will leave America before January 20: ‘I can’t live here for the next 4 years,’” a Jan. 12 Facebook post said, sharing images of Trump and Winfrey. 

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

Trump will be sworn into office Jan. 20. The post linked to an undated blog post that further claimed Winfrey “revealed she is quitting her long-running talk show.” Neither it nor the Facebook post provided any sources for the claims. 

PolitiFact contacted Winfrey’s production company about the Facebook post but didn’t immediately hear back. 

However, we found no evidence, such as public statements, social media posts or news reports, to corroborate the claims. 

Winfrey’s long-running talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show“, ended in 2011 after 25 seasons. She’s hosted other shows and podcasts over the years, including “The Oprah Podcast,” which recently featured Dr. Vivek Murthy, the outgoing U.S. surgeon general. 

We rate claims she announced she’s leaving the country before Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration False.