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The media mogul addressed criticism over elevating two figures whose political views have drawn scrutiny.

Oprah Winfrey is drawing a clear line between herself and the two men her platform turned into household names, telling critics that whatever Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz have done since is entirely their own doing.

Speaking with Emmy Magazine, Winfrey addressed the persistent criticism she’s faced for elevating both figures, particularly as their political alignments have drawn scrutiny in recent years. Her answer was direct. “Everybody has their own path in life, and it has not one thing to do with me, and I don’t have one thing to do with them,” she said, per TMZ.

Winfrey did revisit how each man came into her orbit. Dr. Phil, she explained, entered her life during one of its more turbulent chapters, the 1998 lawsuit brought by six Texas cattlemen who accused her of defaming the beef industry. Her legal team brought him on, and Winfrey described riding with him to court every day across six weeks of trial.

She found him practical and grounded, and the experience convinced her he had something worth sharing more broadly. “Oh, you could help a lot of people. You should come on my show,” she recalled thinking.

Dr. Oz arrived through a different door. Winfrey said Gayle King made the introduction, and what struck her was his knack for translating medical subjects, including colon cancer and digestive health, into terms everyday viewers could actually follow.

Her framing of both decisions rested on the same premise, at the time, she believed each man would prove useful to her audience. That intention, she suggested, is where her involvement began and ended.

The comments land as both figures have become firmly associated with President Donald Trump, a development that has prompted some to revisit Winfrey’s role in their rise. Her position is that the launchpad she provided decades ago carries no bearing on the choices they’ve made since.