Even after the tsunami warnings in Hawaii – which were issued in connection with a powerful earthquake in the Pacific Ocean – were withdrawn, a large number of angry posts circulated on social media.
On X and Tiktok, Oprah Winfrey was accused of having refused to give access to her private road, when it was needed to give the residents of the area a significantly shorter evacuation journey.
But the road does not even belong to the TV star. Although the road in question, part of Kealakapu road, is generally called "Oprah's road" in the public's mouth, it is owned by the family business Haleakala ranch.
Oprah Winfrey has a special agreement with the road's owner and is therefore allowed to use it, but the decision to open the road to the public does not lie with her, but with the landowner. A decision that was also made: two hours after the tsunami warning came into effect, it was opened, and between 150 and 200 vehicles could be evacuated via the mountain road.
