Oprah Winfrey talks about her brother who died of AIDS in powerful Pride Month message

Media icon Oprah Winfrey shared a Pride Month message reflecting on her younger brother Jeffrey, who passed away from AIDS during his youth. Winfrey expressed that her brother would be astonished by the increased acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals today, and she wished viewers the support to live authentically, as ‘LGBTQ Nation’ writes.

At the beginning of her message, which she posted Wednesday on Instagram, Winfrey 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.”

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Continuing, she reflected, “I often think if he’d lived, he’d be so amazed at how much the world has changed. There actually is a marriage and a Pride Month [now]. 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 added, “I believe that person has the right to love who they want to love and be the person they most want to be. And my hope for you is that you are living a life that feels authentic to you and that you have the support around you to do so, no matter your sexuality. Whether or not you’re celebrating pride this month or always, I wish for you the continued rise to your truest, highest expression of yourself as a human being.”

In late March, while accepting a Vanguard Award from the queer media watchdog group GLAAD, Winfrey also spoke about her younger brother. GLAAD awards the Vanguard to allies who have significantly fostered acceptance of LGBTQ+ people and issues.

In her speech, Winfrey highlighted The Oprah Winfrey Show’s efforts during the AIDS crisis to combat “rampant misinformation and misguided fear” about gay men. She recalled a notable 1987 episode in Williamson, West Virginia, where she held a town hall to address the panic that ensued after an HIV-positive man swam in a local pool. Medical experts were present to explain how the virus is transmitted.

“I aimed to create a safe space to bring the lives and the background stories of the LGBTQ community to the forefront for our audience,” she said. “And what I’ve learned over the years of interviewing over 35,000 people one-on-one... is that every single person wants the same thing: the desire to feel seen, to know that what we say matters, and to know that we matter.”

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