Country singer Shania Twain said one of her most “memorable” dinners was with talkshow legend Oprah Winfrey, but the event was tainted by awkwardness after the topic of religion came up.
The 57-year-old singer made the comments during a recent podcast interview for “Table Manners.” Twain claimed things got weird with Oprah on one topic, but didn’t clarify when the incident happened.
“I think one of my most memorable dinners was with Oprah Winfrey, she’s such a smart lady,” Twain said, per People. “It was great to just sit and have real talks, but as soon as we started talking about religion, it all went sour. So, I said, ‘Let’s stop talking about religion!’”
“She is quite religious,” the Grammy Award-winning singer continued. “I’m not religious in the sense that I’m dedicated to a religion. I’m much more of a spiritual person. I would say I’m a seeker.”
She went on to describe just how the conversation went south when religion was on the table.
“It just wasn’t debatable,” Twain said. “There was no room for debate, and I like to debate. Canadians like to debate everything. So, I’m like, ‘Oh, OK. It’s time to change the subject.’”
Twain and Oprah appear to have a good relationship otherwise. The “Any Man of Mine” singer has been interviewed on Oprah’s talk show multiple times and they even teamed up for a 2011 docuseries called “Why Not? With Shania Twain,” which aired on Oprah’s OWN TV network.
Meanwhile, Oprah doesn’t appear to be part of any specific religion, and based on what she said years ago is open to different perspectives. During a 2015 interview with AARP, the talk show host said she was raised Baptist but now believed in many things while still identifying as Christian.
“I’m definitely not a traditionalist, because a traditionalist would be going to church every Sunday. I still love church,” she told the publication, while saying she appreciated some of televangelist Joel Osteen’s sermons.
But when asked about New Age philosophy at the time, Oprah seemed open to it. “I love what the church offers to us as a culture — black people in particular,” she told AARP. “But for me to live in a world that is not inclusive of other people who are not Christian would be the opposite of Christianity. I can’t define ‘God,’ so to be open to the mystical and mystery of God is a natural part of myself.”
Defending herself, Oprah said, “So people criticize me for not being what they are, and I say, it’s working for me and has worked for me and continues to work for me, in a way that fills me with a sense of peace and contentment about what God means to me.”
Her professed religion at the time sounds close to what Twain believes, but the singer didn’t elaborate specifically on what made their conversation go badly.