 "Online users accused American host Oprah Winfrey of blocking access to a private road on her Maui property that could have offered residents a faster escape route during the evacuation. File image/Reuters")
As tsunami warnings rippled across the Pacific following a massive 8.8‑magnitude earthquake off Russia’s eastern coast, American host Oprah Winfrey unexpectedly found herself at the centre of a social media storm.
Online users accused the media icon of blocking access to a private road on her Maui property that could have offered residents a faster escape route during the evacuation.
Posts on platforms such as X and TikTok claimed Winfrey either refused to open the road or was slow to do so as thousands scrambled to move to higher ground.
Winfrey has since dismissed the allegations, insisting that efforts to open the road to the public started soon after the tsunami warning was issued and denying any suggestion she had withheld access.
Here’s a closer look at how the claims spread and what actually happened.
What were the claims?
In the hours after the tsunami warning, social media erupted with posts accusing Winfrey of refusing to open a private road that runs through her Maui property.
Many viral posts referred to it as the “Oprah road”, a route named after the American host, which connects the coastal town of Wailea to the elevated region of Kula, could have drastically reduced traffic congestion during evacuations.
“Look at this. I think they’re trying to open Oprah’s road. C’mon Oprah, save us… Everybody trying to get in. Cops trying to open it. Nope, still closed,” a man said in one widely shared video, in which the gates to the road could be clearly seen.
According to one user on X, the private road was eventually opened, allowing evacuees to reach safer ground. The opening itself became a talking point online, with another X user claiming it only happened after widespread public outcry.
“BREAKING: Following INTENSE public pressure, Oprah’s private road has been OPENED to those escaping the tsunami WELL DONE, EVERYONE! It should’ve been opened HOURS ago, but if you’re in Wailea on Maui and need to get to higher ground, USE OPRAH’S ROAD NOW! Haleakala Ranch Rd, Maui, HI,” the user wrote.
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Oprah denies the claims about blocking the road
Winfrey’s representatives swiftly moved to counter the accusations, calling them “false and misleading.”
According to Nicole Nichols, a spokesperson for Oprah Winfrey, the television host’s team acted promptly upon learning of the tsunami threat. She stated that Winfrey’s representatives immediately contacted both local law enforcement and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure that evacuation routes, including the road in question, were accessible.
“Any reports otherwise are false,” Nichols told AFP, emphasising that the property owner and her staff prioritised public safety and worked directly with the relevant authorities to facilitate evacuation operations.
Despite the online outrage directed at Winfrey, it turns out the road at the centre of the controversy does not legally belong to her.
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Why it wasn’t Oprah’s call to open the road
Although widely referred to online as “Oprah’s road,” the route isn’t actually owned by Oprah Winfrey.
The private road belongs to Haleakala Ranch, a 30,000-acre property that stretches from Maui’s southern shoreline to its upcountry region. The ranch has been family-owned since the late 1800s, The Guardian reported.
Winfrey holds an easement agreement with the ranch, which allows her to use and maintain the road. As part of that agreement, she paved it, but she doesn’t control public access.
According to Winfrey’s spokesperson, the decision to open the road rested with Haleakalā Ranch. Ranch president Scott Meidell confirmed they consulted with Winfrey’s land management team during the process.
Meidell said the ranch contacted Maui’s fire department and emergency management officials shortly after 3 pm, and the road was opened around 5 pm Ranch staff helped evacuate about 150–200 vehicles, with the final convoy escorted by 7 pm.
Maui County later confirmed in a public advisory that the road was open, though further evacuations weren’t needed beyond that point.
This isn’t the first time Winfrey has faced scrutiny over the same road.
In 2023, during the Maui wildfires, false claims again surfaced suggesting she blocked public access. At the time, she and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson launched the People’s Fund for Maui, pledging $10 million. The fund had raised nearly $60 million by April 2024.
Even earlier, in 2019, she had granted the county permission to use the road during a brushfire alert, though it ultimately wasn’t needed.
With input from agencies