Oprah Winfrey took the Croisette to the Cannes Lions Festival on Tuesday, drawing a crowd that filled the event venue’s theater seats to the brim about 30 minutes before her 10 a.m. headline start time.
Soon people began working their way to the top level to make sure they could catch the TV host, producer, actress, author, philanthropist and outspoken media icon.
When Winfrey took the stage, phone cameras lit up the room as the crowd exploded into a roar.
Winfrey is in town to accept the 2026 Cannes LionHeart Award, an honor that celebrates “individuals who are driving positive change.” As such, it is designed to honor “those who use creativity, influence, and leadership as a force for good.”
Winfrey discussed her work and values during the annual Cannes Leonhardt Symposium on Tuesday morning with Phil Thomas, president of the Creativity Festival, at the Lumiere Theater at the Palais des Festivals. Simon Cooke, CEO of Cannes Lions, said this Hollywood Reporter Oprah embodies the black spirit. In his introduction, Thomas highlighted Winfrey’s decades of influential work and shared how long it took him to get to the Cannes Lions, noting that he found his first invitation via email to her team — from 2012.
“I’m grateful for your persistence,” Winfrey told him after welcoming the crowd. Was she nervous? “Not a little!” I shared.
When asked about Oprah’s brand, she initially said, “I was 100 percent resistant to being called a brand. I didn’t want to be a brand. … My real intention was to be honest” and to be “true to myself.” But she now accepts that representing the brand is part of her job and fits her mission as long as the brand is a complete expression of what she wants to be.
“True empowerment…no one can take it away from you,” regardless of subscription or other trends, she told the creatives in the audience. “Never lose sight of the true reason you came to Earth,” which places you in the service of something greater than yourself. Her advice: Don’t try to be the best TV presenter or creator. Focus on being the best person you can be and want to be. “Your legacy is every life you touch.”
Winfrey also shared that she learned to “not just let TV exploit me,” but to focus on the question of, “How can I turn this around?” [platform] To a force for good.” By repeatedly emphasizing the importance of being honest, she also shared that saying “yes” when you mean “no” costs you the energy of resentment.
Winfrey stressed that discussing their intentions with interview guests is key for her to ensure authenticity and relevance rather than focusing on voyeurism. I recalled Whitney Houston’s recent performance on her television show in this context.
“I got that confidence from The Oprah Winfrey Show “Whitney did what I think was her last show with us, and she went back to using drugs,” she shared with the audience. Winfrey recalls: “The first interview I did with her…she was clean, but the day she came on my show to perform in front of the audience, she wasn’t, and she fell off the stage. I knew that if that story got out that she fell off the stage, she would be devastated by that, and even though the audience was there and the audience had cameras, I begged them not to put those pictures up because it would ruin her life, and they didn’t.” Winfrey added that in the age of cell phones and social media, things will certainly be different.
Now, people take selfies with her, but in the old days, Winfrey recalled signing autographs, which was tiring. “What do I want?” She’s learned to question herself, the star told the Cannes Lions audience. Her answer was that she preferred to talk to the audience about their lives and what brought them to her show, which she did. Winfrey shared that this allowed her to learn a lot and also served as research for her team.
Winfrey also shared other lessons from her career. “Was that good?” is the most common question she receives from interview partners, including some of the biggest names, I’ve shared. This includes the likes of Beyoncé, who taught her how to move, Winfrey recalls with a laugh, and Barack Obama, among others. Winfrey’s advice: Everyone wants to hear, see and understand.
Earlier this year, Winfrey closed a deal to move Oprah podcastHer book club and more to Amazon’s Wondery. Under the agreement, Oprah podcast It will expand to two episodes per week starting this summer, with Wondery acquiring exclusive distribution and advertising rights to the show’s audio and video. The deal also covers rights The Oprah Winfrey Show Oprah’s Bookstore and Book Club and Oprah’s Favorite Things, with the opportunity to further integrate the two via Amazon.
Starting in July, Wondery will be distributed Oprah podcast Via Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, Fire TV Channels, and Audible. The show will also remain available on YouTube and wherever podcasts are available.
Winfrey is also among the familiar voices who will guide visitors on audio tours of the Obama Presidential Center. She and Tom Hanks will narrate portions of the audio tour of the Presidential Library.
Winfrey left to huge applause and cheers. A DJ inside the Lumiere Theater warmed up the crowd for her – and the audience didn’t need any more prodding. Chants of “Oprah!” It echoed in the air even as one entered the place. Ushers ask people to move to a different door because one side of the hall was already full and they heard comments like “Please tell me I can still come in!” and “I’ll be happy to stand up!”
While Oprah was the attraction on Tuesday morning, things elsewhere on the Croisette were quieter than they were on the first morning of the Cannes Lions festival on Monday. After all, there was a lot of business talk and communication going on until late. “There were a lot of parties last night,” said one of the people who works at the palace. THR.
