Nate Berkus is pissing off his benefactor, the almighty Oprah

This story is from last week’s National Enquirer (at least the one that’s about to be replaced today on the newsstands. I love it when the tabloids come out!) but it’s still worth repeating. The Enquirer has run several stories about how Oprah protege Nate Berkus is pissing off her media highness by deigning to make his own as-of-yet unproven decisions for his upcoming show. Oprah has set the interior designer up with a new show, and he’s trying to go in his own direction with it. Somehow it’s not working out quite yet, which of course annoys Oprah. I bet she was hoping to have finally found an apprentice who would accept her guidance across the board.

Oprah Winfrey is fuming at her protege Nate Berkus for bungling the opportunity she’s handed him to become an instant TV talk-show star.

Oprah has tapped the engaging 38-year-old interior designer to be a key player in her empire, and his daily syndicated series is set to debut in the fall.

But sources say the show is already falling apart!

Oprah, who’s launched the careers of Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz, had high hopes for Nate because of his great sense of style and his “bighearted way” with people, continued the insider.

“But his show is a mess – and Oprah is livid.”

As the Enquirer recently reported, the talk-show queen was already upset at Nate for opting to shoot his series in New York instead of at her Harpo Studios in Chicago. Nate, who is openly gay, wanted to be in the Big Apple to be closer to his boyfriend, according to sources.

And now Nate is in more hot water with Oprah. Test shows have been a flop with focus group audiences, leading to the firing of one executive producer before the program has even aired.

“The show is an absolute disaster at this point,” maintained the insider. “Oprah is steaming, and as far as she’s concerned, if there are any more problems, Nate’s out.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, July 19, 2010]

I tried to watch an Oprah episode this week, with that Women, Food and God author that Oprah loves so much, Geneen Roth. It really struck me how much Oprah is pushing her approach to spirituality and personal fulfillment without much room for dissent. In fact I found Oprah so damn smug and full of her own self righteous new age bullsh*t that I couldn’t watch the whole thing.

I do appreciate the way that Oprah introduces and covers important health, wellness and psychology topics. Her show can be rather interesting and educational. She definitely has her own agenda, though, and you can see that she dictates the way that subjects are presented to make sure they adhere to her belief system. It’s her show and she can do what she wants with it, but I would like to see more balanced and complete coverage. Anyway she’s retiring and moving on to her OWN network where she can continue to try and OWN our hearts and minds.

It doesn’t surprise me that she’s not pleased with Berkus. Oprah may seem all caring, but she’s not concerned about us as much as she wants to make sure we’re following her damn advice and orders. Any minions that step out of line must be prepared to deal with her disapproval. I wonder how long it will be before Jenny McCarthy does something to piss her off.

On a side note, Nate Berkus is so gorgeous! I could stare at this man for hours. Surely that’s got to do something for ratings.