Oprah Winfrey wishes her brother Jeffery Lee 'could have lived' as she remembers him during Pride Month
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Oprah Winfrey remembered her late brother Jeffrey Lee while honoring Pride Month.
In her social media post, the iconic talk show host said, "It was 35 years ago that my younger brother Jeffrey Lee died from AIDS. He was 29 years old."
"The year was 1989 and the world was an extremely cruel place, not just for people suffering from AIDS, but also for LGBTQ people in general," she added.
Winfrey continued, “I often think if he’d lived he’d be so amazed at how much the world has changed, that there actually is gay marriage and a Pride Month.”
“How different his life might have been had he lived in these times. In a world that saw and appreciated him for who he was rather than attempting to shame him for his sexuality,” she further noted.
Oprah Winfrey cherishes her brother Jeffrey Lee during Pride Month
In the video, the 70-year-old further stressed that she believes everyone “has the right to love,” adding that she hopes people are “living a life that feels authentic to you” and that one has the “support around to do so.”
Winfrey captioned the video, “I wish for you the continued freedom to rise to your truest highest expression of yourself as a human being.”
In March, Winfrey honored her late brother at the 35th GLAAD Media Awards as she received the Vanguard Award for “promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues,” GLAAD announced ahead of the ceremony.
"At the time, I didn't know how deeply my brother internalized the shame he felt about being gay," she said in her speech.
“I wish he could have lived to witness these liberated times and be here with me tonight," she added.
She revealed Jeffrey inspired 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' which ran from September 1986 to May 2011, reports People.
"All the years of the Oprah show for me were about sharing stories that actually helped people be more of their authentic selves and I know that that is the truest form of what it means to be free," Winfrey remembered.
"To have personal freedom. To be able to fully be who you are. To have the truest expression of yourself as a human being," she added.
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Internet feels for Oprah Winfrey as she remembers her brother Jeffrey Lee
One person wrote on Facebook, "I knew that Oprah had a brother who died from this terrible disease. We've fortunately have come a long way when it comes to this. We still have a long way to go."
"Unfortunately Oprah it still is if not worse now," a second user felt.
"I just now learned of her brother. My condolences to Oprah on his loss to a disease that took so many beautiful lives, gay & straight," a person wrote.
Another expressed, "It is one of the worst ways to lose a loved one. 💔"
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