In 1988, Oprah learned one invaluable lesson the hard way when she taped a show with a panel of white supremacists. She says her producers knew it would be edgy, controversial and likely get huge ratings. More importantly, Oprah and her team thought they could expose the white supremacists ignorance and confront their hatred of black people right on national television. 

The plan backfired on them when the panel came in with their own agenda. After promoting violence and making several offensive comments, the white supremacists walked off the stage.

After the show, Oprah says she felt unsettled and had a strong epiphany. "In the end, we gave a bunch of racists an hour-long platform to spread their message of hate and evil. That taping changed the way I thought about TV and how it should be used," she says. "I made a conscious decision to never again use this platform to put that kind of energy out into the world."

Today, two of the white supremacists who were on the show that day in 1988 have been invited back to The Oprah Show. This time, they have a much different message. See what they have to say today.

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