Gina Heslop
Sally Jessy Raphael, now 89 years old, was a well-known talk show host who made a big impact on daytime television in the 1990s.
She hosted her own show, Sally, from 1983 to 2002, featuring hard-hitting and topical interviews. Her show was known for covering a wide range of issues, from out-of-control kids to extreme religious beliefs.
Sally’s groundbreaking format helped pave the way for other talk show hosts, including Oprah Winfrey, who started her show three years after Sally. In 1990, Sally even won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series.
Recently, Sally has been facing a modern problem: getting verified on Instagram. Despite providing proof of her identity, Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has not given her the blue checkmark that confirms an account is authentic.
This is especially concerning because there is a fake account pretending to be her, called realsallyjr, which is not her at all.
Frustrated, Sally made a public post asking for help to get verified. She wrote, “So, Instagram doesn’t want to give me my blue check – no matter what proof I send them.
AND there’s a fake account called ‘realsallyjr’, and that’s NOT ME! Help me let Instagram know, so we can fix this.”
Sally’s real Instagram account started in April, and since then, she has been sharing both throwback clips from her show and personal photos from her life now.
Her posts include pictures of her on holidays, on boats, and enjoying cake at a restaurant. Despite her fame, her account currently has fewer than 600 followers, possibly because many people did not know she was on Instagram.
Her fans are rallying behind her, calling for Instagram to recognize her properly. One fan wrote, “The Icon, the Legend of daytime TV, Ms. Sally Jessy Raphael needs her blue check mark. Hello!!!!!” Another fan commented on how strange it is that someone as famous as Sally is struggling to get verified.
Sally is still known for her signature red reading glasses and her bright red hair, a bold look she has maintained over the years. Her influence on daytime TV is undeniable, as her talk show format helped launch a genre that would later bring success to other stars.
Her show ran for 20 seasons, ending when ratings began to drop along with the overall popularity of talk shows at the time.
