Oprah Winfrey comes under fire for comparing owning pets to being a mother

Mother's Day was celebrated across most of the world on Sunday, May 14. Everyone knows that women can have motherly qualities without actually having given birth to children. Therefore, they should be included in the celebration as well. However, Oprah Winfrey took it a step too far on Friday when she claimed that women who own pets should be honored on Mother's Day. More than 95,000 people liked her post and photo on social media just because she is Oprah.

However, some didn't like it that she equated owning pets with being a mother.

Oprah's photo

The photo Oprah posted on Instagram featured Winfrey posing with a woman who had two small dogs in a baby stroller. She called the dogs the woman's fur children. Then, Oprah wished a Happy Mother's Day to mothers of all varieties of children. Some did not like it because when Anna Jarvis fought to have the second Sunday in May observed as a day for children to pay tribute to their mothers, she did not include pets.

Social media comments

There were some comments on social media that clapped back at Oprah. One person said that carrying a baby for nine months and putting a life on hold to sacrifice for your kids is different from owning a dog.

The person concluded that Oprah's posting insulted mothers everywhere. Another person commented that pets are not children. Oprah, who did not raise any children, should not have made that comparison. Another informed Oprah that humans don't give birth to dogs, cats, or any other animal.

There were some who defended Oprah and said those who spoke against her are "haters." One person insisted that she is a mother of two children and two pets. She rationalized that she is their mother because she takes care of them and is financially responsible for her pets just as she is for her children. Because the pets are part of the family, the person who commented said Oprah is right. She is a mother to her two pets just as she is to her two children.

Oprah is a dog lover and has always owned several dogs. The 63-year-old media mogul has no children and has confessed that she would not have been a good mother to children. In the April issue of Good Housekeeping U.K., she said she didn't want babies. She added that she doesn't have the patience for kids, but she has the patience for dogs.

What do you think?

Most people understand that pets are part of the family, but do you think women should be honored on Mother's Day because they have pets? Do you think Oprah is right to say fur children are children too? While many agree with Oprah, some do not.