Names and faces
■ Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey headlined Brooklyn’s Barclays Center like an A-list duo Saturday, getting a rock-star like applause from a feverish audience of fans on a stage typically reserved for pop, rap and basketball stars. It was the fifth tour stop of “Oprah’s 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus,” Winfrey’s full-day wellness event with WW (Weight Watchers Reimagined) that had the New York venue usually holding concerts at night buzzing with bright-eyed attendees lined up as early as 8 a.m. It marked Obama’s return to Barclays just 14 months after appearing at the arena for her own sold-out tour to promote Becoming, which has sold more than 11.5 million units worldwide and won a Grammy Award last month. “Does this feel like deja vu for you?” Winfrey asked. “Because you were here wearing those bad, Balenciaga gold boots!” Obama said, “Barack is like, ‘Where are those boots?’ I was like, ‘They’re put away, honey. Just settle down.’” The former U.S. president was one of the main topics discussed during the wide-ranging, hourlong conversation which, at times, had the former first lady coming off like a comedian headlining a soldout show. “All of the people in this room paid money to come out, to give up a Saturday…,” Winfrey said before Obama chimed in with: “And as I said — ain’t nobody twerking onstage.” Winfrey’s event featured the mogul discussing her own wellness journey, a pre-show dance party and a performance from Grammy-winning gospel singer Tamela Mann. Winfrey also honored Tara Deckert, a lieutenant in the New York Police Department, as well as her colleagues and city employees for their wellness transformation as part of the WW-WorkWell NYC partnership.
■ Utah kidnapping and rape survivor Elizabeth Smart said Thursday that she was sexually assaulted on an airplane last year while she was sleeping. Smart, now a 32-year-old mother of three, referred her kidnapping from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 in describing her reaction to the attack to CBS News This Morning.
She said she was asleep during a flight when the man next to her began rubbing her inner thigh with his hand. “The last time someone touched me without my say-so was when I was kidnapped, and I froze,” she said. She said the man said nothing. Smart later reported the attack to authorities and said she wants to prevent the man from preying on others. Smart’s spokesman, Chris Thomas, said Thursday the attack happened July 19 on a Delta Air Lines flight from Philadelphia to Atlanta. He said it’s being investigated by the FBI and Delta. “I called up my husband and I was like, ‘Do I just have a big badge on my forehead that says ‘Easy Prey’ or ‘Victim?’” Smart told CBS. “Because I’m sick of it.”