In a Talkshoplive video on Friday, Winfrey spoke with journalist Nancy O'Dell about her conversation with Harry and Markle.
"I had no idea that it would have the reverberating impact that it has had and continues to have," Winfrey told O'Dell.
Winfrey continued, saying that prior to the interview, she texted Harry and Markle about their "intention" in doing the interview.
"Whenever I'm doing interviews with anybody, I have a conversation with them before," Winfrey said. "I didn't see Harry and Meghan before, but I did text them and say: 'Intention is very important to me. Tell me what our intention is so that we can be aligned in our goal.' Our shared intention was the truth. They wanted to be able to tell their story and tell it in such a way that allowed them to be truthful as possible."
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O'Dell asked Winfrey, speaking of Markle and Harry: "Were you surprised at how open they were?"
"I was surprised," Winfrey said.
Winfrey continued: "Literally, that thing that's now become a meme that's like: 'What?' You're going there? You're going all the way there."
"The reason why it was such a powerful interview - first of all, I know how to ask questions and you know how to ask questions - we all know how to do our jobs. But what makes it powerful is when you have somebody else who is willing to be as open, as vulnerable, as truthful as they were," Winfrey said.
"So I don't give myself credit for that," she added.
"I give myself credit for asking the questions, but the reason the interview was what it was was because they answered the way they did," Winfrey said.
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