Did you see Oprah’s bombshell interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry? More than 17 million people watched.
And while there were a number of big revelations, conspiracy theorists have focused on one big thing: What looks like an ankle monitor under Oprah's boot.
Of course, Oprah is probably not wearing an ankle monitor. After all, how would Oprah Winfrey, one of the most famous people in the entire world, have been arrested and sentenced to home confinement without anyone knowing about it? Yet, a few stills from the interview are circulating that appear to show a lump on the side of Oprah’s boot — likely a simple crease in the material of her footwear — and that's all that's needed for this misinformation to spread.
Why do people believe Oprah is wearing an ankle monitor?
It may not be surprising to learn that this conspiracy theory is heavily promoted by QAnon believers.
“It’s big in QAnon because it furthers their narrative that the bad guys are being arrested and will soon be put on trial/executed,” Mike Rains, who tracks conspiracy theories and hosts the Adventures in HellwQrld podcast, told Mashable. “It’s proof the good guys are winning and their enemies are on the brink of being exposed for the monsters they are.”
Followers of QAnon, the hugely popular right-wing conspiracy theory, believe that former President Donald Trump is fighting a global Satanic trafficking ring run by baby-eating pedophiles within the Democratic party and the Hollywood elite. Many QAnon believers say that Trump is still secretly the president and is calling the shots to take down these politicians and celebrities.
These are all lies and falsehoods, obviously, but people who believe in the conspiracy theory truly have bought into it all.
Why does QAnon view Oprah as a villain?
It’s not a surprise that believers of a right-wing conspiracy theory would view a liberal-leaning “Hollywood elitist” like Oprah as a “bad guy.”
However, the reasoning for targeting Oprah specifically is largely due to internet lies that they’ve taken as true — and it stems from the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case.
When billionaire Jeffery Epstein was arrested in 2019 and charged with the sex trafficking of minors, conspiracy theorists jumped on the case. A real-life elitist with ties to powerful politicians and celebrities such as Bill Clinton and QAnon’s hero Donald Trump was being taken down for sex crimes.
This wasn’t a conspiracy theory. Epstein’s arrest was real. His victims existed and could speak out. In many ways, Epstein’s arrest (and subsequent death) validated their convoluted theories. The cherry on top? Epstein kept a flight log of who flew on his private plane, dubbed the “Lolita Express,” and visited his private island, Little Saint James, where many of the crimes allegedly occurred.
Epstein’s flight log is freely available online. Anyone can view it and see names like the previously mentioned Clinton and Trump inscribed in his handwriting.
Yet, a fake computer-typed “flight log” — essentially, just a list of famous peoples’ names — went viral. QAnon believers ate it up, sharing the fake information as truth. Names like Tom Hanks, Madonna, Ellen DeGeneres, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Lady Gaga, and, of course, Oprah Winfrey were all on the fake list of celebrities who flew on Epstein’s plane to Little Saint James. None of them appeared on Epstein’s real flight logs.
Being on this fake list, however, meant these celebrities were guilty as charged in the minds of QAnon followers. Chrissy Teigen, for example, has been relentlessly harassed online by people who believe these falsehoods. Over the past year, new conspiracies have quickly spread about celebrities being arrested for trafficking crimes.
“When the COVID lockdowns hit Ellen was suspected of wearing an ankle monitor,” explained Rains. “Now Oprah is wearing one and they are all very excited about it.”
How the ankle monitor theory fuels the QAnon fire
As Rains pointed out to me, even within the context of their own conspiracies, the ankle monitor theory doesn’t make sense. These are the same conspiracy theorists who believe powerful people like Bill Gates are injecting microchips and nanobots into our bodies via the COVID-19 vaccines. Yet, the technology to secretly surveil Ellen and Oprah only comes in the form of a big bulky device that physically attaches to one's ankle.
But, regardless of logic, hearing that their enemies are being punished only fuels the QAnon conspiracists. Many followers will cling to something, anything that validates their elaborate belief system. QAnon influencers, who promote theser conspiracy theories for money and fame within the community, know this too.
“Almost all the major QAnon promoters run with the ankle monitor stuff,” explains Rains. “It’s catnip for their audience because as twisted as it sounds, QAnon is a movement based on hope and seeking signs of their impending vindication is great content.”
The Harry and Meghan interview isn’t even the first time conspiracy theorists have made the claim about Oprah wearing an ankle monitor.
Last year during the early months of the coronavirus lockdowns in the U.S., conspiracy theorists claimed that Oprah was wearing an ankle monitor in a home cooking video the media mogul posted on social media. Stills posted online clearly show a crease in Oprah’s pants, but to the conspiratorial thinker...it was an ankle monitor.
Just got a phone call that my name is trending. And being trolled for some awful FAKE thing. It’s NOT TRUE. Haven’t been raided, or arrested. Just sanitizing and self distancing with the rest of the world. Stay safe everybody.🙏🏾
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) March 18, 2020
Oprah, herself, even had to post a statement to her Twitter account shooting down misinformation that her home was raided by police and she had been arrested last March.
For those who were aware of the previous Oprah ankle monitor theory, watching the Harry and Meghan interview felt validation for their beliefs, proof that she’s been wearing an ankle monitor this whole time.
And if Oprah can be taken down, anyone is up for grabs. Any notable person caught in a single frame on an awkwardly lit set with a shirt crease can turn into the latest “pedophile” taken down by Trump.
“It furthers their narrative that the bad guys are being arrested and will soon be put on trial/executed,” Rains tells me. “It’s proof the good guys are winning and their enemies are on the brink of being exposed for the monsters they are.”
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