Republican Women's Group Boycotts Oprah Winfrey Show For Not Booking Sarah Palin

September 10, 2008 2:14 p.m. EST

Chicago, IL (CNS) - Talk show host Oprah Winfrey's decision to not have vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on her show until after the election has been met with a backlash from a large group of women. The Florida Federation of Republican Women has launched a boycott against Winfrey's TV show and magazine.

Winfrey, who has had Barack Obama on her show twice and is a supporter of the Democratic presidential candidate, said she would love to interview Palin but not now.

The 58-year-old Florida Federation of Republican Women, which has 4,500 members, says Winfrey should have Palin on her show now, given how important the Alaska governor's run is for women.

"She is an icon, and set her herself up to be such a women's rights and women's issues person. To have the first vice president of our lifetime on the Republican ticket being a woman and to sit it out regardless of what her personal political beliefs were was disingenuous, we felt," the group's First Vice President Cindy Graves told "FOX & Friends" on Wednesday morning.

Celebrity News Service has read a statement by Winfrey which has said she won't have either party's candidates on her show while they are running for their respective offices. Winfrey's statement read, "There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over."