Oprah Winfrey

[sanlee 49]

Patty Jackson's 4-1-1

 

Oprah’s school for girls in South Africa is set to air as an ABC special on February 26th. The special, Building A Dream, will also feature Oprah’s celebrity friends Tina Tuner, Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Sidney Poitier and Mary J. Blige.

[sanlee 49]

Patty Jackson's 4-1-1

 

 

Some of the parents of the girls at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy are voicing their concerns about the care their daughters are being given.

Some parents have requested a meeting to discuss their progress.

There is a lot of concern about the girls losing their African culture and heritage since they are living in a new environment founded by an American.

[sanlee 49]

A SOCIALITE'S LIFE

 

Oprah Apparently Running The Boarding School From Hell

 

The world's most powerful woman is receiving criticism for the way her South African school is being run .

The students say they feel like prisoners. Ungrateful bitches! The earth's deity in human form has graced you with her divine efforts, and you spit in her face! Don't you realize Oprah chose you over American children, who she feels aren't worth the effort and are just little sociopaths obsessed with texting their friends with plans to shoot up the school, playing around on Facebook, and having unprotected sex to My Chemical Romance? You'd better get grateful, and you better get grateful stat.

 

Cellphones and e-mail correspondence are out of bounds during the week, and girls are only allowed to phone their parents at weekends. The maximum number of visitors per pupil is four, and visits have to be approved by the school at least two weeks in advance. Mans said she had to wait at the security gate for half an hour to be signed in when she went to visit her daughter last Sunday.

"It was a nightmare. We had only two hours to see my child. Surely this isn't a prison or an institution?"

 

 

Oprah's realizing her fondest wish. A little microcosm of the world where she is judge, jury and executioner. Next stop, world domination.

And heaven help you if you don't submit to her will and find the grace within and read the book she tells you to. That school is going to be prison camp #1 on Planet Harpo.

[sanlee 49]

Hollywood News

 

Oprah says her African school is no 'prison'

 

New York, Mar 15 :

 

Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey has hit back at complaints that the rules at her South African boarding school are too strict.

 

Parents of some of the student complained to local newspapers that the school was like a prison, and that they were allowed only extremely limited contact with their daughters.

 

However, a spokeswoman for Winfrey insisted that the rules were in place to ensure that the young female students of the school got the protection they needed.

 

She also said that the rules were not so different from that that were followed at other boarding schools around the world.

 

'Our goal is to protect health, welfare and well being of the students at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy,' the New York Post quoted her, as saying.

 

'As with other boarding schools we provide a structured, safe and nurturing environment in which the girls can learn and develop the guidelines that were created with the girls best interests in mind,' the spokeswoman added.

 

Built on 22-acres of land, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa complex holds a sprawling, 28-building complex, that among other things comes equipped with a yoga studio and beauty salon.

 

The academy, which is situated near Johannesburg, has been set up to help 152 girls aged 12 and 13 who have been personally handpicked by Winfrey from 3,500 applicants.

 

Winfrey had earlier revealed to Newsweek that the reason why she decided to build a school for young girls in the African nation, after years of just signing cheque after cheque in donations, she was getting 'frustrated' at the lack of 'connection' between her and the people she was helping.

 

'I really became frustrated with the fact that all I did was write check after check. At a certain point, you want to feel that connection. These girls deserve to be surrounded by beauty, and beauty does inspire,' she told the publication.

 

--- ANI

[sanlee 49]

Hollywood News

 

Winfrey defends strict rules in her South African school

 

New York, March 15:

 

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey defended the strict rules at her South African girls boarding school saying they are trying to provide a structured and safe environment to students.

 

People familiar with the schools there said the regulations were standard.

 

Winfrey's spokesperson said: "Our goal is to protect the health, welfare and well-being of the students at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy. As with other boarding schools we provide a structured, safe and nurturing environment in which the girls can learn and develop the guidelines that were created with the girls' best interests in mind."

 

Some of the students' parents complained to local newspapers that they are given very little time to be with their children and have even compared the school to prison.

 

But Barbara Hela, a South African living in New York City, who attending a boarding school in Zimbabwe, said that the rules at The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy are similar to other schools in the region.

 

--- IANS

[BobbyD 2]

Tommy to O: Racist E-Mail a "Big Fat Lie"

Posted May 2nd 2007 4:40PM by TMZ Staff

Filed under: Gossip/Rumors, Oprah

 

Tommy Hilfiger has never been kicked off Oprah's show ... because he's never even been on Oprah. But today, the preppy designer appeared for the first time with O to refute an ugly urban legend that's been circulating for over a decade.

 

An e-mail first popped up about ten years ago -- and has recently resurfaced -- which alleges that Hilfiger was booted off the set of "Oprah" when he supposedly admitted that he intended his designs for "upper-class white people," not for Blacks, Jews, Asians or Latinos. Turns out that Hilfiger never said anything of the sort -- anywhere -- and that he wasn't even a guest on the show.

 

Hilfiger was so floored by the rumors, he tells O, that he paid FBI investigators "a lot of money" to track down the source, though the closest they got was an unnamed college campus. And, in the end, he says, the rumor's ridiculous because, frankly, what he really wants is money "from anyone that will buy my clothes."

[leaivory 2]

Tommy Hilfiger Appears On "Oprah" To Clear Up That Urban Legend Finally...

Filed under: Oprah Winfrey , Tommy Hilfiger

 

 

We've all heard that rumor. Tommy told Oprah on her show one time in the 90's that his clothes were meant for the crackers and that he was disgusted that they might have caught on in the black community. Anyone who believed that shit is about as dumb as those who, when they get that e-mail from the guy in Darfur saying they have a million dollars they need you to help them with and ask for your checking account #'s, provides them happily. Anyone who knows anything knows that everyone is Darfur has been brutally murdered. DUH! Anyway, Tommy recently cleared it up for the pinheads out there.

 

Tommy Hilfiger has never been kicked off Oprah's show ... because he's never even been on Oprah. But today, the preppy designer appeared for the first time with O to refute an ugly urban legend that's been circulating for over a decade.

 

An e-mail first popped up about ten years ago -- and has recently resurfaced -- which alleges that Hilfiger was booted off the set of "Oprah" when he supposedly admitted that he intended his designs for "upper-class white people," not for Blacks, Jews, Asians or Latinos. Turns out that Hilfiger never said anything of the sort -- anywhere -- and that he wasn't even a guest on the show.

 

Hilfiger was so floored by the rumors, he tells O, that he paid FBI investigators "a lot of money" to track down the source, though the closest they got was an unnamed college campus. And, in the end, he says, the rumor's ridiculous because, frankly, what he really wants is money "from anyone that will buy my clothes."

 

At least he's being truthful with that last part. Next on Dr. Phil. a gerbil appears to state than no one from his community has ever been in Richard Gere's asshole.

 

Posted by: J. Harvey

http://socialitelife.com/2007/05/03/tommy_...inally.php#more

[else411 0]

Tommy Hilfiger Appears On "Oprah" To Clear Up That Urban Legend Finally...

Filed under: Oprah Winfrey , Tommy Hilfiger

 

 

We've all heard that rumor. Tommy told Oprah on her show one time in the 90's that his clothes were meant for the crackers and that he was disgusted that they might have caught on in the black community. Anyone who believed that shit is about as dumb as those who, when they get that e-mail from the guy in Darfur saying they have a million dollars they need you to help them with and ask for your checking account #'s, provides them happily. Anyone who knows anything knows that everyone is Darfur has been brutally murdered. DUH! Anyway, Tommy recently cleared it up for the pinheads out there.

 

Tommy Hilfiger has never been kicked off Oprah's show ... because he's never even been on Oprah. But today, the preppy designer appeared for the first time with O to refute an ugly urban legend that's been circulating for over a decade.

 

An e-mail first popped up about ten years ago -- and has recently resurfaced -- which alleges that Hilfiger was booted off the set of "Oprah" when he supposedly admitted that he intended his designs for "upper-class white people," not for Blacks, Jews, Asians or Latinos. Turns out that Hilfiger never said anything of the sort -- anywhere -- and that he wasn't even a guest on the show.

 

Hilfiger was so floored by the rumors, he tells O, that he paid FBI investigators "a lot of money" to track down the source, though the closest they got was an unnamed college campus. And, in the end, he says, the rumor's ridiculous because, frankly, what he really wants is money "from anyone that will buy my clothes."

 

At least he's being truthful with that last part. Next on Dr. Phil. a gerbil appears to state than no one from his community has ever been in Richard Gere's asshole.

 

Posted by: J. Harvey

http://socialitelife.com/2007/05/03/tommy_...inally.php#more

 

Wow this is how old I am, when I first heard this tale, it was Liz Clairbourne and Phil Donohue. It was she didn't make the clothes for the ethnic body type and was distressed at how the clothes looked on blacks.

[leaivory 2]

DID OPRAH CREATE A MONSTER?

Filed Under: Dr Phil > Oprah

 

We weren't sorry to learn that blowhard Dr Phil's talk show is as good as cancelled. Our inside souce swears that unless a miracle happens, the show is history. We remember when Oprah introduced Dr Phil with great fanfare and she made him a star. Oprah's Harpo production company produced Phil's show and it was immediately successful. As time went on and Phil's ego inflated, it was apparent he was not the sensitive and compassionate man he appears to be on TV. In fact, according to coworkers, he was a big HAM with brusque manners. As time passed, Phil resented the fact that Oprah controlled his show - HE wanted to own it. Oprah became disillusioned with Phil and did NOT attend his son's wedding. Without Oprah's support, Dr Phil's ratings have slipped. It's just a matter of time before Oprah waves bye bye.

 

Posted by Janet Charlton on May 8, 2007 1:02 PM

[mkf 0]

DID OPRAH CREATE A MONSTER?

Filed Under: Dr Phil > Oprah

 

We weren't sorry to learn that blowhard Dr Phil's talk show is as good as cancelled. Our inside souce swears that unless a miracle happens, the show is history. We remember when Oprah introduced Dr Phil with great fanfare and she made him a star. Oprah's Harpo production company produced Phil's show and it was immediately successful. As time went on and Phil's ego inflated, it was apparent he was not the sensitive and compassionate man he appears to be on TV. In fact, according to coworkers, he was a big HAM with brusque manners. As time passed, Phil resented the fact that Oprah controlled his show - HE wanted to own it. Oprah became disillusioned with Phil and did NOT attend his son's wedding. Without Oprah's support, Dr Phil's ratings have slipped. It's just a matter of time before Oprah waves bye bye.

 

Posted by Janet Charlton on May 8, 2007 1:02 PM

 

There is NO WAY Dr. Phil is even close to cancellation. He gets spectacular ratings and is only second to Oprah in the ratings with almost 6 million viewers. No one is even close to those two. Janet Charlton is just a bunch of BS. As far as their falling out, I'm sure that is true because whenever someone mentions his name on her show she brushes it off or has a not-so-happy look on her face.

[k80cat 0]

I liked the Dr Phil show in the beginning -- but it has definitely gone the way of Geraldo and Jerry Springer in terms of sensationalism. BUt sometimes Ophra's not that far off the mark either.

[BobbyD 2]

http://www.wwtdd.com/

 

OPRAH IS NOT FROM AROUND HERE

 

I don’t usually count peoples toes, because I’m pretty sure I know what the result is gonna be, but Splash Online apparently does. And Oprah is apparently some kind of demon. Polydactylyism (animals with six toes) according to wiki:

 

Historically and in the contemporary world, polydactylyism has been associated with witchcraft, psychic power, the extraterrestrial, and sporting prowess.

 

A-ha! I knew it! She's not an athlete so that rules out sporting prowess and everything else on that list is bad. I think a good test would be to throw her in well with rocks tied to her legs and if she's able to climb out, then ... um, wait, what are we testing her for again? I can't remember, but I still stand by throwing her down a well.

[leaivory 2]

http://www.wwtdd.com/

 

OPRAH IS NOT FROM AROUND HERE

 

I don’t usually count peoples toes, because I’m pretty sure I know what the result is gonna be, but Splash Online apparently does. And Oprah is apparently some kind of demon. Polydactylyism (animals with six toes) according to wiki:

 

Historically and in the contemporary world, polydactylyism has been associated with witchcraft, psychic power, the extraterrestrial, and sporting prowess.

 

A-ha! I knew it! She's not an athlete so that rules out sporting prowess and everything else on that list is bad. I think a good test would be to throw her in well with rocks tied to her legs and if she's able to climb out, then ... um, wait, what are we testing her for again? I can't remember, but I still stand by throwing her down a well.

That's not another toe. There's no nail and it looks different to her toes. I think it's just a lump sticking out on her foot, like a corn or bunion, etc. Her feet seem pretty lumpy anyway.

[Maxiemom 623]

If that's a bunion, then that's one big ass bunion.

 

You might want to rethink the sandals in public, Oprah. Just saying.

[BobbyD 2]

(Pagesix.com)

 

'purple' Bias Claim

 

CHARGES of racial bias have hit Oprah Winfrey's Broadway hit, "The Color Purple." Shawnique Hill, the show's ex-stylist and dresser, charges in a federal lawsuit that she was axed after complaining there were too few "people of color" working behind the scenes. The complaint alleges discrimination, breach of contract and wrongful termination. "My client is a true heroine . . . for the rights of all people of color who are underrepresented and mistreated behind the curtains on Broadway even when the most powerful black woman in America is the key investor," said Hill's lawyer, Christopher Serbagi. Winfrey's rep referred us to the show's rep, who said, "We are confident there has been no violation of the law."

[leaivory 2]

Oprah Getting Her Black-Tie Affair On

Filed under: Awards , Oprah Winfrey

 

 

I may crack a joke here or there about Oprah, y'all, but the truth is that I'm pretty much a devoted follower of most of what she says. She reminds me too much of my mother for me to ever seriously disregard something she says. Except for her taste in movies, I'm pretty much sold. If Gayle ever decides to end their long-standing friendship, I'll be right over here. Holding my imaginary novel that I'll be waiting to present to her for inclusion in her Oprah's book club, right before I rocket into critical acclaim and awesome friendship. God, I can't wait.

 

Oh yes, and here is O in all of her philanthropic glory and awesome hair at Elie Wiesel's Foundation for Humanity at the Waldorf-Astoria, going on with her bad self and speaking at the event. And Iman wasn't looking too shabby either, especially if you think about the fact that she's the same age as Janice Dickinson. Yes, wrap your brain around THAT.

 

 

More photos (Ron Howard, Iman, Martha Stewart, Padma Lakshmi, Oprah Winfrey, Damon Dash, Rachel Roy, Barbara Walters) from the event after the jump.

 

 

(Ron Howard, Iman, Martha Stewart)

 

 

(Padma Lakshmi, Oprah Winfrey)

 

 

(Damon Dash, Rachel Roy, Barbara Walters)

 

Posted by: Lisa Timmons

http://socialitelife.com/2007/05/21/oprah_...e_affair_on.php

[BobbyD 2]

Rush & Molloy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dad's book is no Oprah pick

 

It could be a chilly Father's Day for Oprah Winfrey 's dad.

 

The talk queen tells us she's "shocked" and "disappointed" that she had to hear it from the Daily News that her 74-year-old pop, Vernon, is writing a book about her.

 

Winfrey said she laughed recently when "one of my assistants said, 'The Daily News is calling. They say they heard your father is writing a book about you.' I said, 'That's impossible. I can assure them it's not true.'

 

"But then my sister said, 'I think you should call your father.' I called him and it turned out he is writing a book. The worst part of it was him saying, 'I meant to tell you I've been working on it.' "

 

Winfrey, 53, confided, "I was upset. I won't say 'devastated,' but I was stunned."

 

"The last person in the world to be doing a book about me is Vernon Winfrey," she added. "The last person."

 

Oprah was 14 and pregnant when she left her mother's home in Milwaukee to live with her father in Nashville. Her baby died weeks after he was born. She has said before that she's grateful to her father for helping her go on, for teaching her discipline and the importance of education.

 

Nevertheless, Vernon, who plans to call his book, "Things Unspoken," was quoted as saying he should have been tougher on her, because Oprah was "out of hand and an unruly child."

 

"I have a good relationship with him," Oprah told us Sunday, when she received the Elie Wiesel Foundation Humanitarian Award at the Waldorf. Though she hasn't seen Vernon since he accompanied her on a trip to Africa a few months ago,she said, "We talk, we talk, we talk."

 

That's why "I would have preferred to have known my father was working on this. It would have been a nice gesture, a courtesy," she said.

 

Vernon isn't the only biographer Winfrey has on her tail. This month, an Illinois court dismissed extortion charges against Keifer Bonvillain, who sought $1.5 million for "embarrassing" information he claimed was destined for a book. Oprah is letting her lawyers deal with it - "whatever happens, happens."

 

Potentially more troubling is the bio Kitty Kelley has under construction.

 

Oprah said she won't try to interfere with it. "I'm not cooperating with it, but if she wants to write a book, fine. This is America. I'm not discouraging it or encouraging it."

 

The maker of best sellers added, with a wink, "and you know I can encourage!"

 

Oprah, of course, has no shortage of famous admirers. Among those who donned black tie and gowns on a "Sopranos" night were Edie Falco, Katie Couric, David Bowie and Iman, Dustin Hoffman, Ron Howard, Sidney Poitier, Barbara Walters, Sydney Pollack and Martha Stewart.

 

Also there, at separate tables, were Oprah's longtime beau, Stedman Graham, and her best pal, Gayle King. The increasingly rare presence of Stedman with Oprah prompted even Ted Koppel to observe that he and his wife, Grace, just celebrated their 44th anniversary, but "Oprah and Steadman have been engaged for longer than that."

[leaivory 2]

Oprah Not Pleased with Dad's Proposed Book

Filed under: Oprah Winfrey

 

 

Uh oh. Sir, if I were you, I wouldn't be messing with the O. It turns out that Oprah has recently found out that her 74-year-old father is in the midst of working on a book about his experiences raising her--and adding insult to injury, she found out from "The Daily News."

Winfrey said she laughed recently when "one of my assistants said, 'The Daily News is calling. They say they heard your father is writing a book about you.' I said, 'That's impossible. I can assure them it's not true.'

 

"But then my sister said, 'I think you should call your father.' I called him and it turned out he is writing a book. The worst part of it was him saying, 'I meant to tell you I've been working on it.' "

 

Winfrey, 53, confided, "I was upset. I won't say 'devastated,' but I was stunned."

Yeah, that's the kind of misbehaving that will permanently get your ass removed from the Christmas list. The book is tentatively titled, "Thing Unspoken" and Vernon has apparently spoken out that he wishes he would have been a more strict father when dealing with his daughter, as she was "out of hand and an unruly child." Over the weekend, Oprah indicated that she was on speaking terms with her father and that their relationship was "good," but damn. That's a major kick in the teeth. If I suddenly found out that my mother was writing some book about me, the bratty little child in me would say, "Fine. Then I'm writing a book about YOU. And there's a whole chapter devoted to the rainbow-colored harness you used to keep me strapped to my sisters' stroller whenever we were in the mall." Yeah, cause that's pretty much all I got.

 

 

Posted by: Lisa Timmons

http://socialitelife.com/2007/05/22/oprah_...oposed_book.php

[BobbyD 2]

Side Dish

 

Sounds like Oprah Winfrey may have had a word with her dad, Vernon. Oprah told us Sunday that she was "shocked" and "disappointed" when Vernon confirmed to her that he was working on a book about his famous daughter. But yesterday he told TVGuide.com the book is "on hold right now," adding: "We might think about it later on." Meanwhile, it's a good thing that Gabriel Byrne skipped Sunday's Elie Wiesel Foundation dinner, where Oprah was honored. Byrne, who was listed on the invite, recently faulted O magazine for running "a picture of Oprah on the cover looking like she's 12. Every single picture [of a woman was] totally airbrushed." Oprah, who's 53, told us: "Absolutely not true. We're the one magazine that doesn't have models who are 14 and weigh 98 pounds. I'm not buying it."

[MC 1]

Byrne, who was listed on the invite, recently faulted O magazine for running "a picture of Oprah on the cover looking like she's 12. Every single picture [of a woman was] totally airbrushed." Oprah, who's 53, told us: "Absolutely not true. We're the one magazine that doesn't have models who are 14 and weigh 98 pounds. I'm not buying it."

I has always bugged me that it's always Oprah on the cover, and airbrushed to within an inch of her life. After that first Harper's cover where they sculpted her arms away, I think she's been hooked on the magic of digital editing.

 

Looks like the old empire may be showing a few cracks here and there. Dad felt he had to announce he was writing a book. Did he need a raise in his allowance? But other people now feel it's okay to criticize the big O. I say it's about time! I really think she's gotten too big for her own britches ( ).

[Persiaa 0]

I think the book's title was to be "Things Unspoken." It made me wonder if he was going to out her.

[BobbyD 2]

I think the book's title was to be "Things Unspoken." It made me wonder if he was going to out her.

Wait..wait...u mean Oprah's playing for another team? Nooooooo....

[colorine 26]

Sounds like dear old dad wants more money. I'm sure this will all go away when Oprah pays him off.

[golden*girl 0]

Wait..wait...u mean Oprah's playing for another team? Nooooooo....

Tee hee.

[k80cat 0]

If that's a bunion, then that's one big ass bunion.

 

You might want to rethink the sandals in public, Oprah. Just saying.

I was watching Oprah this week and Dr Oz was on. He took off Oprah's shoe and did some reflexology to her left foot (same foot as in picture.) No bunion, no 6th toe. In fact, she had nice pedicured feet. Somebody has been up to no good with PhotoShop.

Edited May 24, 2007 by k80cat