Oprah Winfrey criticized by Nielsen for Twitter plea, issues apology

On Sunday night, Oprah Winfrey caused a stir when she tweeted to her followers, asking them to watch her show on OWN that night, instead of the Grammys. While that may be OK, Winfrey went over the line when she directed the message to especially those with Nielsen boxes. The company, which tracks ratings for the networks and cable stations, criticized Oprah for trying to change the viewing habits of those with boxes. On Monday, Oprah issued an apology and the tweet has since been deleted.

“Every 1 who can please turn to OWN especially if u have a Neilsen box,” Winfrey tweeted, according to the New York Times, in an attempt to get more people to watch Oprah’s Next Chapter, which was on against the Grammys.

Nielsen is strongly against anyone trying to change the viewing habits of those that have boxes. So, spokesman Matt Anchin released a statement to the NY Times saying that the ratings for Oprah’s Next Chapter will have an asterisk next to them noting, “possible biasing effect.” He added, “It is Nielsen’s policy to note attempts to single out panel members to either change their viewing habits or otherwise influence or affect their reporting,” Anchin said in the statement.

After Winfrey sent out her tweets, she was criticized by followers, which forced her to issue a series of tweets in response, according to Fox News. In one, she wrote, “The word 'please' is used as courtesy not a beg … 'desperate' not ever a part of my vocab … 'unethical' a little harsh don't u think? Seemed like it made sense to me. Sorry if u're offended.”

However, she did issue a more formal apology Monday, saying, “I removed the tweet at the request of Nielsen. I intended no harm and apologize for the reference."

As The Los Angeles Times notes, while Winfrey did delete the initial offending tweet, there are still many responses to critics still up.

Ironically, as Fox News points out, Winfrey was watching the Grammys, which she told many of her 9.2 million followers not to watch. Winfrey frequently tweeted during the event.