OPRAH'S BIG GIVE - Big drama in the Big Apple

We all saw it coming - Rachael finally got the boot from Oprah’s Big Give. 

It was just a matter of time – she just didn’t play well with others.   Rachael developed a pattern of conflicts with her fellow contestants that ultimately doomed her.  This week in particular required teamwork on behalf of the remaining contestants, and teamwork and cooperation are clearly not Rachael’s strong points.

New York was the destination this week as the four contestants had to band together to fulfill the dreams of two dying parents.  Would they be able to make these final wishes a reality, or would in-fighting sabotage their efforts? 

As it turned out, they were able to secure the financial future of a family whose father was dying as well as make a lifelong dream of performing at Carnegie Hall a reality for a dying woman, but the squabbling definitely didn’t help their efforts.  Stephen in particular had a HUGE problem with Rachael – he just couldn’t get over that Rachael (who has a beautiful voice BTW) offered to sing onstage at Carnegie Hall.  To Stephen it felt like Rachael was acting selfishly and interjecting herself into this woman’s dream, when he felt their role on The Big Give was to help make these dreams come true and then step aside.  Stephen’s distaste for Rachael’s tactics really affected his performance this week – but to be fair it looked like Rachael really dropped the ball on a number of important tasks, leaving him to pick up the slack.

Cameron really came out of the whole thing smelling like a rose, however.  He wisely chose not to get involved in all the drama and focused on his strengths – organization.  He worked the phones behind the scenes and coordinated the efforts to get the family’s mortgage paid off and a college fund set up for the kids.  Jada Pinkett Smith helped out quite a bit – it’s amazing how much money you can raise in a short period when you’re famous and well-connected – but Cameron deserves a lot of credit. 

Next week we’re down to just three contestants, each of whom have done really great things so far on the show.  In their own way, they each embody the Big Give spirit and have been able to use their particular talents to great effect.  Either Cameron, Stephen, or Brandi could win the competition at this point and you’d hear no complaints from me. 

Rachael might have some thoughts on the matter, though…

--Dave Campbell

Comments

[shircolo]

Rachael is a liar. She was taped offering to sing. It was a very underhanded thing to do. She finally got caught.