Oprah isn’t having to much luck with her school in Africa. Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls has been rocked by a second sex scandal in less than two years. UNREAL! A girl who is only 15 years old was found guilty of preying on other students and forcing girls to lie to investigators about it. “You have been found guilty of physical contact of a sexual nature with another pupil on campus, harassment, bullying other girls on campus and of being dishonest by not telling investigators the whole truth,” a letter to her parents read.

Other girls were “caught fondling each other or trying to get other girls to join them in lesbian liaisons”. Seven students were suspended last week Lisa Halliday, Oprah’s spokesperson, confirmed. “It is because they contravened the school’s code of conduct. We regard the incident as confidential,” the New York Daily News quoted her as saying.

This horrible incident is jus two years after a female school staffer was accused of physically and sexually abusing students in late 2007.

This is SAD!

Oprah Winfrey revealed the cover of her April issue of “O” during “The Oprah Winfrey Show” broadcast on Friday. Winfrey has covered her magazine solo for the past nine years, but this time around she shares the cover with First Lady Michelle Obama. In this issue which hits newsstands March 17, Winfrey interviews the First Lady about topics ranging from her decorating philosophy to how she hopes she can help other women. I love Michell’s outfit! Too cute!

In related news, Oprah Winfrey wanted to send a message to Rihanna who was involved in a violent altercation with her boyfriend Chris Brown. “He will hit you again.”

Also, Winfrey showed off her new bundle of joy, her new puppy Sadie.  Watch a clip of Oprah and Sadie here:  www.people.com/people/article/0,,20263768,00.html       

Photo: Bruce Weber

This is just plan ol’ sad! WTF?  Some guy who claims that he is Oprah’s ex-boyfriend and ex-drug partner has published a new tell-all memoir entitled “The Wizard of O: My Life with Oprah”. In the book , Randolph Cook alleges that Oprah got him addicted to the pipe aka crack cocaine! He even has a website ( www.thewizardofo.com ) about it.

In the book, Cook claims:

“Oprah made a “rock” of cocaine and baking soda in the tube and heated it, a method known as freebasing.

“[Oprah] then put the lit torch on the rock, inhaled and held the smoke in her lungs for a long time. When she finally exhaled, she began to shake violently as she put the pipe down, she had trouble catching her breath and her eyes got big as saucers.”

We smoked at least a couple of times a week. Sometimes we would smoke up until her limo was waiting to take her to the studio to perform her show…”

Can you believe this fool? LOL! In 1997 Cook sued Oprah for $20 million because his first attempt to publish the book was unsuccessful. He made the claim that no publisher was interested because they didn’t want to cross the queen of daytime TV. The lawsuit was dropped.

Oprah has admitted to doing drugs back in the day…During her show in 1995 to addicted mothers Oprah said:

In my 20’s, I’d done this drug and I know exactly what you are talking about.” She said the drug use occurred while she was an anchorwoman on a television news show. “It’s my life’s great big secret. It was such a secret because–I realize (with) the public person I have become–if the story ever were revealed, the tabloids would exploit it and what a big issue it would be.”

“But I was involved with a man in my 20s who introduced me to the same drug that you’ve been talking about and, like Patrice, I always felt that the drug itself is not the problem but that I was addicted to the man. I can’t think of anything I wouldn’t have done for that man.”

“I had a perfect round little Afro, I went to church every Sunday and I went to Wednesday prayer meeting when I could… and I did drugs.”

As for Cook, he says “Americans have placed Oprah on a pedestal that has been seemingly invincible until now.”

Do you think this ex-boyfriend is trying to get money for xposing Oprah? What do you think about this? Do you think Cook is lying?

Cook’s Website http://www.thewizardofo.com/

Oprah is ashamed that she let herself gain close to 40 lbs within the past two years. She has hit the 200 lb plateau and  says she is just embarrased.

“I’m mad at myself,” the Queen of Talk, 54, writes. “I’m embarrassed. I can’t believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I’m still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, ‘How did I let this happen again?’”

In the cover story of the recent issue of her magazine O, Oprah says, “…The dreaded 2-0-0,” Oprah writes. “I was so frustrated I started eating whatever I wanted – and that’s never good.”

What do you think she needs to do to lose the weight?

Barack Obama has chosen his inauguration tuxedo. WWD reports that the President-elect has chosen Hart Schaffner Marx, a Chicago-based men’s suit company that has been in existence since 1883 and is one of the first American companies to have unionized workers. Obama has been wearing Hart Schaffner Marx suits throughout his campaign. Do you think he shoulda went for something different?

OPRAH CROWNED ‘MOST POWERFUL’ IN ENTERTAINMENT

Oprah Winfrey recently made headlines on two fronts. The Hollywood Reporter announced her as the winner in of its annual “Power 100 List,” and the mogul shot down rumors that she’s looking to work for President-elect Barack Obama’s administration.

CHICAGO IS THE CITY OF THE YEAR

Barack Obama’s election as president, a yet-to-be built skyscraper and a Batman movie. GQ magazine says those are among the reasons it picked Chicago as its “City of the Year” for 2008. GQ calls the proposed 2,000-foot Chicago Spire the next “American landmark” even though construction on the project has stopped amid the economy downturn.

Oprah Winfrey has confirmed that she will broadcast a live episode of her talk show from the Kennedy Center Opera House on Monday January 19, a day before the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama. Another episode will be taped from the actual inauguration that Wednesday (January 21). Ticket information will be available on Oprah.com next week.

In related news, Controversy Over Obama’s Citizenship Heats Up! 

Check out the article featured on Essence… (Thanks Sassybear!)

Essence.com \”Controversy Over Obama\’s Citizenship Heats Up\”

Thanks Judy for Picture!

Oprah Winfrey is among a number of celebrities due in New York tonight for a benefit honoring Susan L. Taylor, editor-in-chief of Essence magazine. Diddy, Terry McMillan, Donnie McClurkin and Ruby Dee are also on the bill to salute Taylor’s 37 years with the magazine targeted to African- American women.

As you already know, Oprah Winfrey has been a big fan of Barack Obama from day one. She is rumored to be planning an inauguration bash all her own. Sources say that Oprah is hoping to broadcast three of her shows from the nation’s capitol that week, potentially from the historic Kennedy Center. Event planners also working for Winfrey apparently are combing D.C. to find a site for a big inauguration bash. Damn! I would love to attend!

Kelly Rowland is going to Africa. The R&B star will visit Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls in Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg. She will be speaking with the students about HIV/AIDS awareness during a workshop which includes an awareness documentary she produced using young people from Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and New York. Suede, a spokesman for Coming Soon, the film company that was used to make the documentary said: “Kelly will stop in South Africa when she returns from performing at the MTV Base African Music Awards in Nigeria this weekend to tell the girls about the documentary and her commitment to Aids awareness. She will also have a meet-and- greet after that”. Kelly was in Africa this past summer (June) performing for Positive Rocks Aids awareness concert in Sun City.

Will.i.am debuted his new Barack Obama-inspired music video, “It’s a New Day,” during a live broadcast of The Oprah Winfrey Show. It aired on Friday. When Will was asked by E! how he got the opportunity to debut the video on the Oprah Show: “I was [in Chicago] on election night, and I was standing next to Gayle King,” the artist said at last night’s Songs of Hope V benefit for City of Hope at L.A.’s Esquire House. “She asked me if I had anything [more] planned, and I pointed to the cameras behind me and I said, ‘I’m doing a video right now, and I have a new song called ‘It’s a New Day.’ And then two hours later, Gayle and Oprah called and asked me to debut the song on Oprah’s show.”

Oprah Winfrey who was the first to endorse Barack Obama was OVERJOYED on her take show yesterday which was dedicated to the new President elect. Oprah supported Obama throughout this long campaign. She wore her cute “Hope Won” shirt on the show and celebrated with her audience…

“I have two words for you America, Mr. President!” she shouted on her show. Yesterday’s show featured a panel of prominent Americans including Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Rep. John Lewis and feminist Gloria Steinem to discuss Obama’s historic win.

“During this long campaign, I made a vow in the beginning to not use my show as a platform, so I kept my mouth shut and supported Barack Obama as a private citizen,” Oprah said. “Today, though, the election is over, and I’m unleashed!”

Check out the clip here:

Marion Jones, former Olympic sprinter, was the Oprah Winfrey show yesterday. This was her first interview since she was released from prison for steriod abuse during her career. Jones explained her decision to lie to federal prosecutors about her use of the once-undetectable designer steroid THG, called “the clear” by clients of the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO). “And so when they showed it to me and they said this is the substance, and I knew that I had taken that substance, I made the decision that I was going to lie and I was going, you know, try and cover it up,” Jones told Winfrey. As you may recall, Jones pleaded guilty on October 2007 to two charges of making false statements to federal investigators in 2003. Having denied for years that she had ever taken steroids, Jones admitted she had started using THG in 1999 and continued using it into 2001. Because she admitted to it, Jones got her five Olympic medals taken away. “It wasn’t as difficult to give back the medals because it’s not about the hardware,” the 33-year-old athlete told Winfrey. “It was about that memory. So that memory is what will be tarnished.” She also discussed how it was being locked away during her sentence. Do you think she deserved to go to jail since she ADMITTED to her wrongdoing?

Ahh Damn…Oprah Winfrey is being sued by a Louisiana man who is claiming that she and her attorney made alse statements that led the FBI to arrest him on charges that he tried to extort the talk-show host. Keifer Bonivillain was arrested in 2006 after he allegedly recorded telephone conversations with an employee of Winfrey’s production company and told a company associate he wanted to publish a book based on the recordings. The FBI said he claimed to have offers from publishers and tabloids ranging from $500,000 to $3 million. Bonvillian charges were dismissed with a condition that he perform 50 hours of community service, but now he is seeking damages of $180 million from Winfrey, her attorney and the FBI in the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.

“There was substantial damage done to my name and reputation on a world level,” he wrote. “The extent of my damages is vast.” Chip Babcock, a lawyer for Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, denied the allegations in Bonvillain’s suit.

“And we know that this whole episode started when the plaintiff wiretapped a Harpo employee in California,” he said. “We advised (Bonvillain) that we believe that wiretapping was illegal, and this case will give us an opportunity to determine whether we were right about that.”

THANKS SASSYBEAR !

Essence reports that Nomvuyo Mzamane, the former headmistress of media mogul Oprah Winfrey’s South African Leadership Academy for Girls, is suing the talk-show host for defamation, according to People.com. The all-girls school has been dogged by controversy since it opened last year, after dorm matron Tiny Makopo was charged with physical and sexual abuse. As a result, Mzamane’s contract wasn’t renewed, but she believes unfairly. Mzamane is seeking $50,000 for each of five different allegations, including defamation by innuendo and intentional infliction of emotional distress, in addition to unspecified punitive damages. Since her termination, the 39-year-old claims she has not been able to find competitive work, and according to reports, suffers from “depression, anxiety and insomnia.”

DO YOU THINK THE HEADMISTRESS HAD A RIGHT TO SUE OPRAH?

source Essence.com

Oprah is facing alot of pressure because she hasn’t invited Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to her show. The Florida Federation of Republican Women has launched a boycott against Oprah Winfrey’s TV show and magazine because she has refused to book Palin on her show until after the election…I mean, are they SERIOUS?

Oprah has expressed that no candidate running for president or vice president on either ticket would be invited to her program until after Nov. 4. Depsite Oprah’s wishes, the Florida Federation of Republican Women which consists of 4,500 members says Winfrey should have Palin on her show now, given how important the Alaska governor’s run is for women.  

“She is an icon, and set her herself up to be such a women’s rights and women’s issues person. To have the first vice president of our lifetime on the Republican ticket being a woman and to sit it out regardless of what her personal political beliefs were was disingenuous, we felt,” the group’s First Vice President Cindy Graves told “FOX & Friends” on Wednesday morning.   

Do you think she should be forced to have Sarah Palin on her show????

Word has it that Oprah Winfrey is trying to feature every single American Olympic gold medalist from the Beijing Games for a broadcast of her talk show to air on Sept. 11.

Forbes came out with Hollywood’s top earners….Will Smith came out on top earning more money than any other film star in Hollywood. The “Hancock” actor raked in $80 million in 2007, beating No. 2-ranked Johnny Depp and his $72 million. Eddie Murphy  was tied with Mike Myers each earning $55 million last year.  

Cameron Diaz is the highest ranking female film star, with $50 million banked in her account last year.  “Atonement” leading lady Keira Knightly earned $32 million, and Jennifer Aniston pulled in $27 million to rank No. 2 and 3 respectively. As far as media personalities, Oprah Winfrey’s $275 million haul in 2007 beats everyone! DAMN!

Time Magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people included filmmaker Tyler Perry, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and singer Mariah Carey which join the likes of President Bush, the Dalai Lama and Miley Cyrus. Time Magazine announced on Thursday that the cut included 30 celebs whose appearance on the list was based soley on votes on the magazine’s website.  Oprah  Winfrey was cited alongside fellow “influential” entertainers Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Mia Farrow as “heroes and pioneers” for global goodwill.  Others making the list include finance adviser Suze Orman, actor George Clooney, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Hu Jintao, and Obama’s fellow presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and John McCain.

Barbara Walters just taped an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in which she revealed a past affair with an African American senator that lasted several years during the 1970s.  Senator Edward Brooke was the first African-American to be popularly elected to the Senate. Their secret relationship was during the time Walters was building a career in TV news as a co-host of NBC’s “Today” show before moving to ABC News. The twice divorced Walters said her affair with Brooke ended before he lost his bid for a third term in 1978.

Have you watched Oprah’s new reality show “Big Give”? Well, the show’s rating took a dive on Sunday, however, it still won the 9p.m. time slot with 11.8 million viewers. Big Give was down 25% from its premiere, however it matched “Extreme Makeover:Home Edition” as the highest-rated shows of the night. Oprah never fails!