Oprah Winfrey made it very clear that she will not be running for president, despite everyone's wishful thinking.
She did, however, give her endorsement of Mayor Pete, a.k.a., the South Bend Mayor and 2020 presidential candidate, Pete Buttigieg.
However, the Queen of all media referred to him with her own nickname, and it's sticking.
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 65-year-old media executive and philanthropist discussed upcoming projects and commented on the crowded list of Democrats running in the race.
And while on the topic of Democratic candidates, Winfrey mentioned she was doing some research by reading up on the presidential hopefuls to determine how she will use her voice in support.
Among her required reading materials was Pete Buttigieg's latest book.
"Right now, I'm studying the field. I'm reading Shortest Way Home by [Pete Buttigieg], I call him Buttabeep, Buttaboop."
"The name's either going to really hurt or [really help]—I think it's going to help, actually."
Oprah, the name is sticking.
As a part of her new collaboration with Apple to bring original content to the upcoming Apple TV+ service, Winfrey told THR that she visited their headquarters.
Steven Spielberg was with her, and it was there when she first tried to introduce "Buttabeet, Buttaboop" into parlance.
""Just the other day, I was at Apple with Spielberg and we were in the hallway talking about, 'What are we going to do?' And I said, 'Have you heard of this Butta guy?' He goes, No, Butta-who?' I go, 'Buttabeep, Buttaboop. Look him up.'"
The former talk show host, who was notorious for giving away cars like they're going out of style, said she occasionally has the itch to interview "people who are of the culture."
"Last year, I would've wanted to sit down and have a conversation with Christine Blasey Ford. Right now, I'd probably want to sit down and talk to Butta."
Winfrey may not be running for president, but she sure is channeling a lot of that potential energy towards someone else.
So what does Buttigieg think of his new moniker? He doesn't seem to mind one bit.
Buttigieg, who recently had lunch with Winfrey at the home of a mutual friend, told WGBH in Boston on Tuesday:
"In the car on the way over, somebody just said that Oprah mentioned me, which is arguably a bigger deal than coming in second in a poll."
With Oprah's adorable endorsement, "Buttabeep, Buttaboop" could close the gap in the tightening race to Washington.
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