T.D. Jakes and Oprah Winfrey convened Thursday evening at the Winspear Opera House for an hour-long chat that dove into their ambivalence around artificial intelligence, how they place their faith at the center of decision-making and rumors about their ties to disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The conversation was part of the annual Good Soil Forum, a three-day conference led by Jakes, the founding pastor of The Potter’s House, aimed at empowering minority business owners. Unlike some networking forums, the night was far from a buttoned-up affair.
Before Jakes and Winfrey, the billionaire businesswoman and former talk show host, hit the stage, the audience was already buzzing — with some dancing on their feet — as a DJ played a medley of throwback songs and held a roll call for Black fraternities and sororities.
Shortly after 7 p.m., Jakes and Winfrey stepped out to a standing ovation.
“Listen, I don’t do this,” Winfrey said, explaining she agreed to the event in part because of her love for Jakes. She also wanted to impart a message about her faith.
“Because I am God’s child, all things are possible,” she said, also repeating throughout the night that she has looked toward God for guidance in her career moves.
She shared an anecdote about once finding solace as a worshipper at The Potter’s House amid a rough patch in her professional life.
A sermon Jakes delivered, she said, “turned me around and allowed me to all the times that God had showed up for me.”
During their chat, Jakes asked Winfrey several questions about being a businesswoman, including navigating interpersonal relationships amid rising success and knowing when to walk away from a role.
The conversation later turned toward the subject of artificial intelligence.
Jakes praised the technology for its assistance after his heart attack in November.
“They went in through my arteries in my arm and cleared out my heart while I was awake because of AI,” he said.
But he also raised concerns about automation potentially leading to job losses.
Winfrey, for her part, took fault with people being duped by deepfakes online.
“There’s a picture of me naked in bed with Puffy,” she said, using a nickname for Combs. “I saw it myself. AI-generated.”
“First of all I’ve never been near a Puff party,” she continued, appearing to allude to the “freak-offs” that have been the source of public intrigue in Combs’ ongoing federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial.
“Anybody who knows me knows if there is a party, I’m the first one out.”
Jakes chimed in, saying “people love salacious stories.”
“I stopped by Puffy’s house for 30 minutes to say happy birthday to him during the day at 2 o’clock with staff people and out of that came a love affair and all kinds of stuff,” he said.
“You too?!” Winfrey said.
“Yes, let’s get Jerry Springer on there,” he said.
As the talk wound down, Winfrey compared the audience’s entrepreneurial plans to planting a seed, encouraging them to find good soil.
“One day you gon’ look up and you are standing in a forest.”
The audience burst into applause.
It was somewhat of a Winspear reunion for Jakes and Winfrey. In 2012, the venue held a black-tie gala in honor of Jakes’ 35 years of ministry. Winfrey made a surprise cameo, during which she called Jakes “an American treasure.”
