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Shania Twain recalls ‘memorable’ dinner with Oprah that ‘all went sour’ when religion was brought up

September 29, 2022 | | Print Article

Country music legend Shania Twain says “one of my most memorable dinners” was with Oprah Winfrey, but when the topic of religion came up, “it all went sour.”

Twain, whose new single “Waking Up Dreaming” was released earlier this month, sat down with Jessie and Lennie Ware for the duo’s popular podcast, “Table Manners,” and recalled the awkward conversation with the 68-year-old former talk show host.


(via Spotify)

“It was great to just have real talks, but as soon as we started talking about religion, it all went sour,” the singer admitted. “So I said, ‘Let’s stop talking about religion.'”

While Twain said she’s “not religious in the sense that I’m dedicated to a religion,” she maintains that she is “spiritual.”

“I’m much more of a spiritual person,” she said. “I would say I’m a seeker.”

But when dining with Winfrey, who grew up in the Baptist Church and, as Twain noted, “is quite religious,” apparently a differing view is not well tolerated.

“There was no room for debate, and I like to debate. Canadians like to debate everything,” Twain explained. “So, I’m like, ‘Oh, OK. It’s time to change the subject.'”

Twain didn’t go into further detail, except to state the subject “just wasn’t debatable.”

“Everyone always says, ‘Never talk about politics or religion,'” she said.

It’s an interesting look from Shania Twain into the character of a woman who has, for decades, claimed to be all about “compassion” and “shared religions.”

“Kindness and Compassion should be our shared religion,” Winfrey tweeted in 2013. “Agree SuperSoulers?”

In 2016, Winfrey quoted author Reza Aslan, who said, “Religion is the language we use to express what is inexpressable [sic].”

Sure… as long as you don’t express it at dinner.

Of course, if you’re talking to the press when you express it — and you know no one is going to contradict you — it’s all good.

As the Daily Mail points out, Oprah is all about being inclusive as a Christian when someone is taking notes.

“For me to live in a world that is not inclusive of other people who are not Christian would be the opposite of Christianity,” she told AARP Bulletin in 2015.

Interestingly, Twain appeared on one of the last episodes of Oprah Winfrey’s incredibly influential talk show, and in 2011, Oprah  couldn’t “stop singing Shania Twain’s praises, literally.”

“She was very forthcoming,” Winfrey said at the time. “Lots of stuff. It really pulls the shade down — or up — on a celebrity life.”

Back then, Twain was returning to the spotlight after five years, following a painful divorce and struggles with her voice due to a battle with Lyme disease.

“My voice was never the same again. I thought I’d lost my voice forever. I thought that was it, [and] I would never, ever sing again, she says in her new Netflix documentary, Not Just A Girl, according to SheFinds.com.

“You know, I am a, quote, celebrity,” Oprah stated at the time, “and I know it’s nothing like anybody really thinks it is, because, behind the curtain, everybody is just human.”

Melissa Fine
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