Oprah Winfrey has hit back at claims that she kept a private road closed on her Maui estate as local residents tried to escape to higher ground amid a tsunami warning for the Hawaiian island.
“As soon as we heard the tsunami warnings, we contacted local law enforcement and FEMA to ensure the road was opened,” a spokesperson for Winfrey said Wednesday in a statement to People. “Any other reports are otherwise false.”
Winfrey’s rep added that police had been dispatched to the road and were “helping residents through 50 cars at a time to ensure everyone’s safety.”
Related: Oprah Was Shocked by ‘Online Slander’ Over Maui Fire Fundraiser
The Maui Police Department confirmed in a statement that “Oprah’s road is open to get Upcountry.”
The media mogul owns more than 2,000 acres in Kula and Hana, and is one of Maui’s biggest private landholders, according to Hawaii News Now.
Right-wing influencers were quick to criticize the mogul on social media, saying roads on the island were gridlocked as residents tried to escape and Winfrey was partly to blame.
The tsunami warning was triggered by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake on the eastern coast of Russia Tuesday, July 29, triggering tsunami concerns for parts of Japan, Hawaii, the Philippines, and the West Coast of the U.S. including California.
Here in Los Angeles, the county government alerted coastal residents that an advisory was in effect.
A tsunami is an extremely large ocean wave caused by an earthquake or other natural events.
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