Stars Celebrate Obama Win

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

05 Nov 2008 09:00 AM

Oprah Winfrey was front and center last night in Grant Park as her "boy" Barack Obama addressed a crowd of about 200,000 screaming supporters as the nation's first African American President-elect.

Winfrey has long claimed that she is Obama's No. 1 fan, so it was no surprise that the TV talk show queen was on hand in Chicago to watch him make history. In fact, not only did Winfrey show up to the massive public rally in Grant Park she brought along her BFF Gayle King and Brad Pitt as well.

"It feels like hope won," Winfrey told news reporters. "It feels like there's a shift in consciousness. It feels like something really big and bold has happened here, like nothing ever in our lifetimes did we expect this to happen."

Interestingly, less than 24 hours prior to making that statement Winfrey told a New York radio deejay that she already knew what she was going to wear to Obama's inauguration ball. (This was an hour after polls opened yesterday.) Turns out that she not only has her dress picked out, but she had it designed last February. How's that for confidence?

While Winfrey was busy planning her January trip to D.C., last night in Los Angeles, actress Courteney Cox and her husband David Arquette hosted a Barack Obama victory party Tuesday night at their Beverly Hills home. Among the guests were pals Jennifer Aniston, Sascha Baron Cohen and Demi Moore.

Another celebrity speaking out following Obama's win over John McCain was actor George Clooney, who told reporters that now that the election is over "it's time to begin unifying the country so we can take on the extraordinary challenges that this generation faces."

Meanwhile, R&B superstar Usher took to the airwaves making note of the historic nature of Obama's win: "This will go down in history, in black history, for all of the sacrifices that the great Joseph Lowery and Martin Luther King made, this actually pays off for their sacrifice. ... I'm speechless. I don't even know what to say."

The opposite was true for Winfrey who vowed to use future shows to speak about her upcoming trip to the White House.

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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