Oprah Hates The Handicapped?

Oprah's site makes Zach Anner's votes magically disappear! Something's rotten in the state of Harpo Studios.

• 1. So, Zach Anner is this awesome guy trying to win the contest to become the next Oprah.

  You know, for Oprah's Be The Next Me contest. We wrote about him a few weeks ago, when his popularity on the internet really began to surge.

• 2.

  He's a 25-year-old comedian from Austin, TX, with cerebral palsy, who wants to have "a TV show designed to inspire people who never thought they could travel." He's also incredibly charming on camera. The internet flocked to vote for him.

• 3. He was clearly in the lead...

  ...until about 3pm on June 22nd, when the second-place contestant, Dr. Phyllis, had a sudden and somewhat suspicious surge in traffic. Like:

• 4. 300,000 Votes In 20 Minutes?

  That's a big surge. Raising the question: Did Oprah's site rig the vote because of Zach's handicap?

• 5. Proof Of Votes Taken Away?

  

  Some shots that went viral on Reddit today alleging votes were changed (this could be a caching issue).

• 6.

  Also worth noting -- the top 5 vote getters all go on to the next round, so even if he's not first it's not like he's out of the running. But! Suspicious!!