Gayle King , Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay said they don’t like being called “auntie." Ava was the first to reveal she doesn’t like it. During an interview with Van Lathan,she said: “Auntie Ava? Why? Am I that old? Because I don’t feel that old,” she said on Van Lathan’s “The Red Pill” podcast earlier this month. “And it’s not a respect thing. Auntie Ava like Aunt Jemima?”
Oprah Magazine then reached out to Lady O and Gayle for their take on the term
“I cringe being called Auntie or Mama by anybody other than my nieces or godchildren,” Winfrey explained in the magazine. “Except if I’m in Africa, where it’s the custom for everybody to refer to anyone older as ‘Sister’ or ‘Auntie,’ depending on the age difference. And there no one refers to anyone older by their first name out of respect.”
“I hate being called auntie. That’s what you say to old people or the old lady who lives in the neighborhood,” stated King. “I get that it’s a sign of respect, but no one’s calling Beyoncé ‘Auntie Beyoncé. The only ones who should be calling me ‘Aunt’ are my niece and nephew and they don’t add the ie.”
Listen to Muthaknows spill the tea below!