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Oprah Apologizes to Robin Givens for Tyson Interview

lholmes — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:11:48 +0000

Oprah Winfrey said she was wrong for not challenging a comment made by Mike Tyson about wanting to “sock” Robin Givens during an interview on her syndicated television program.

From WENN.com

“Givens fought back angry tears as she revealed she sat in disbelief as Winfrey’s studio audience chuckled while Tyson admitted he wanted to “sock her” after an infamous TV interview with newswoman Barbara Walters.

In the special, Givens went into great detail about some of the fights she and her then-husband had had as a silent and enraged Tyson sat beside her.

Givens, who Tyson described as a “tough” and “mean” woman during his Oprah interview, told the talk show titan she was “really hurt” by the way Winfrey handled the chat with her ex.

Holding back tears, the actress said, “I wouldn’t be honest if there wasn’t a part of me that wanted you to go, when he said, ‘Oh, I’ve socked her before…’ ‘That’s not right.’ And it wasn’t right, it was painful.”

“He can say whatever about me… but there are so many women like me, in my situation, that I just feel when there is this laughter, if you are in that situation out there, it kind of lightens it.”

Oprah responded by insisting her studio audience laughed because “they were uncomfortable” and because Tyson used the word “sock”. She also told Givens, “I don’t think that they were laughing at you, I think they were laughing at the term.”

She then offered her guest a personal apology, stating, “In that moment, I will tell you, I felt that I should have said something. I felt that I should have said, ‘Audience, that isn’t funny…’ so I regret it.”

“I would say to you and every woman, who has ever been hit, I feel that I did not handle that as well as I should have and I feel that I could have gone further and should have said more to clarify that what he was doing and what he was saying was wrong.”

“So I apologize to you and I apologize to every woman who has ever been in that situation.”

A relieved Givens said, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Ne-Yo Song to be Lead Single for Disney Movie

lholmes — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:26:52 +0000

R&B star Ne-Yo’s newest song, “Never Knew I Needed,” will be the lead single for Disney’s first-ever animated film featuring a Black princess.

The movie is called “The Princess and the Frog” and it debuts Dec. 11. The movie features the voices of Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard and Anika Noni Rose, who plays Tiana, the princess.

A Second Sex Scandal at Oprah’s School

hbarber — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:38:27 +0000

For the second time in less than two years, Oprah Winfrey’s girls-only boarding school in South Africa has been hit with yet another sex scandal. According to the newspaper Afrikaans, a 15-year-old girl was found guilty of preying on another student and bullying girls to lie to officials investigating the incident. At least six other girls were “caught fondling each other or trying to get other girls to join them in lesbian liaisons,” the paper reports. Read more.

MUSIC: Oprah Warns Rihanna; Ex-Bad Boy Airs Out Diddy; New Releases

ewiley — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:02:10 +0000

Oprah Warns Rihanna
Oprah Winfrey and Donald Trump both disapprove of Rihanna running back to Chris Brown. Trump says she would be a “loser.” Here’s more.

Ex-Bad Boy Airs Out Diddy
Ex-Bad Boy artist Mark Curry talks to BET.com about his book, Diddy and his time spent at Bad Boy. Check it.

New Releases
This week’s releases features The Dream and J. Holiday – a double dose of R&B. Click for the releases.

ENTERTAINMENT: Oprah’s Latest Generous Gift; Foxx’s ‘Intuition’ Pays Off

ewiley — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:30:19 +0000

Oprah Gives a Fat Check to Atlanta Educator
On Christmas Eve, Ron Clark, the creative, inspiring educator, got a Federal Express package from the Queen of Talk TV, Oprah Winfrey. It was $365,000. Turns out that Winfrey had been monitoring the success of his South Atlanta school and thought that $1,000 a day for an entire year made sense as she was looking for the recipient of her most generous gift this year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Clark, who said his school needs $2.4 million to operate, says the extra money will enable him to provide 26 full scholarships for a year. Last month, his academy also got $300,000 from Tony Cann, vice chairman of Promethean Ltd, the leading manufacturer of collaborative classrooms systems.

Foxx’s ‘Intuition’ Pays Off
Jamie Foxx’s third album, Intuition, debuted at No. 3 on the Top 200 Albums chart, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The disc’s success goes in part to the offerings of such sidemen as T.I. (on “Just Like Me”) and Ne-Yo and Fabolous (on “She Got Her Own”). With a total of 265,196 units sold in the first week, Intuition also reached No. 2 on the R&B Albums chart. The video for “Just Like Me” was the Spotlight video on VHI, netting more than 100 spins a week on VH1 Soul.

Oprah Supports Another Phony Book

ewiley — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:51:18 +0000

Book blesser Oprah Winfrey got duped again. This time the author exposed as less than truthful is Herman Rosenblat, who apparently fabricated his memoir of “Angel at the Fence,” in which he recalls how he met his future wife at a Nazi concentration camp. On Saturday, Berkley Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA), announced that it has withdrawn the “true story” from Rosenblat. Over the past 20 years, he had fine-tuned his tale of woe and ultimate triumph, appearing on numerous talk shows, including Oprah’s. The way the story went, Rosenblat met his wife, Roma Radicky, while he was a prisoner at a sub-camp of Buchenwald in Nazi Germany. She was a young Jewish girl whose family was pretending to be Christian and lived nearby. For months, they would meet on opposite sides of a barbed-wire fence, where she would sneak him apples and bread. Rosenblat was then transferred to another camp and the two lost touch, until the 1950s, when they were reunited by accident — on a blind date — in New York. They soon married and earlier this year celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The book was scheduled to be released in February, but Berkley Books withdrew the memoir Saturday following allegations by scholars, friends and family members that his tale was untrue, reports The Associated Press. “Berkley Books is canceling publication of ‘Angel at the Fence’ after receiving new information from Herman Rosenblat’s agent, Andrea Hurst,” the publisher said in a statement. “Berkley will demand that the author and the agent return all money that they have received for this work.” Winfrey has described their romance “the single greatest love story … we’ve ever told on the air.” They have inspired a children’s book and a feature film adaptation is scheduled to begin next year. This isn’t the first time Winfrey has bestowed her blessing on a book, only to find out the so-called true story was bogus. In 2005, she picked James Frey’s memoir “A Million Little Pieces,” for her book club before it was discovered to be fake.

Is Oprah Heading to D.C.?

hbarber — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:32:52 +0000

Is Oprah heading to D.C.? Oprah Winfrey, who definitely has the ear of President-elect Barack Obama, reportedly is eyeing a $50 million, nine-bedroom crib a relative stone’s throw from the White House, The New York Post reports. The speculation is that Winfrey, who used her well-documented mojo to help get Obama elected, would serve in his kitchen cabinet – an influential adviser without an official title. “She has never personally been to see [the home],” a source told the News. FOX News reports that the only home listing that fits the description is a $49 million, nine-bedroom, four-bathroom mansion on 3.5 acres, with a parking lot for 100 cars, a gatehouse, and additional building overlooking the Washington Monument.

Entertainment: Oprah Named PETA’s Person of the Year; Actor Acquitted of Murder

hbarber — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:29:09 +0000

Oprah is named PETA’s Person of the year. Oprah Winfrey, usually praised for her philanthropic work with human beings, was named the “Person of the Year” by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The Norfolk-Va.-based organized lauded Winfrey for using her “powerful voice to defend those without one,” said PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. ”She has used her show to uncover horrific cases of cruelty to animals in puppy mills and on factory farms, and Oprah even used the show to highlight the cruelty-free vegan diet that she tried,” PETA wrote on its Web site.

Actor acquitted of murder. Lillo Brancato, the young actor who had perfected the role of an up-and-coming Italian mobster, was acquitted Monday in the death of a New York City Police officer who was gunned down as he attempted to stop a burglary by Brancato and an accomplice. The jury said that Brancato was guilty of first-degree attempted burglary, but did not convict him of killing officer Daniel Enchautegui, who was shot by the accomplice. The jury could have found the 32-year-old Brancato guilty of second-degree murder, since the death occurred during the commission of another felony, but there were mitigating circumstances, which the jury bought. For example, Brancato was not armed and did not know that his sidekick had a gun. The accomplice, Steven Armento, 51, was convicted by another Bronx jury on Oct. 30 of first-degree murder in firing the fatal shot into Officer Enchautegui’s chest. He was sentenced last month to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Brancato is looking at anywhere from three to 15 years in prison for attempted burglary; he’s already served more than three years and could be credited with that time. New York Supreme Court Justice Martin Marcus will sentence Brancato on Jan. 9. Yolanda Rosa, Officer Enchautegui’s sister, was outraged by the decision. “I waited three long years for this,” she said. “I’m disappointed. What message is this sending out to New York police officers today?”

Entertainment: Oprah Falls Off Weight Control Program; Bobby Brown’s Book Will Be Released Today

hbarber — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:23:55 +0000

Oprah falls off the weight control program. Oprah Winfrey has opened up about her recent weight gain. She admits to being embarrassed by her weight gain in an eight-page spread in the January issue of her O magazine, which has a coverline that reads: “How Did I Let This Happen Again?” Winfrey writes about how and why she has gained 40 pounds in four years, now reaching 200 pounds. “I’m mad at myself. I’m embarrassed,” she wrote in the article. “I didn’t just fall off the wagon. I let the wagon fall on me.” Of the causes of her weight gain, the media mogul says, “This past year, I took myself off of my own priority list. I wasn’t just low on the list; I wasn’t even on the list.” Oprah has thyroid conditions that also slowed her metabolism. After missing meditation, workouts and eating junk food, the weight piled on, she recently told the press. Winfrey was reportedly so upset by her weight gain that she didn’t allow any full-body covers of herself, only headshots. Winfrey will talk more about her plans to take better care of herself when her O story launches a weeklong series on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” beginning Jan. 5. “Oprah’s Best Life Week” will give viewers thorough advice on health, spirit, money and relationships to guide them through the new year.

Bobby Brown’s book will be released today. The Bobby Brown autobiography, “Bobby Brown: The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But …,” is to be released today, reports EUR Web. Despite months of delay, the book that was to be collaboration between then-friends, author Derrick Handspike and Brown, is apparently hitting bookstores despite disagreements between the authors. The Web site reports that the book released today by Down South Books is being called an “unauthorized autobiography.” In the book, Brown, 40, apparently dishes about his marriage to singer Whitney Houston and their troubles and explores other relationships.

Entertainment: Oprah and Friends Honor Essence’s Taylor; Housewives’ NeNe Leakes Was Evicted; Despite Running a Fever, Tina Turner Did the Garden

hbarber — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:49:02 +0000

Oprah and friends honor Essence’s Taylor. Oprah, Diddy and Al Sharpton came out to support Susan L. Taylor of Essence magazine. See photos from the exclusive event.
Housewives’ NeNe Leakes was evicted. The breakout star of the hit Bravo reality series “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” was evicted from her pricey Duluth five-bedroom house, The Atlanta Constitution reports. According to Darryl Pierce, the broker for the 5,000-square-foot home, NeNe and her husband, Gregory Leakes, left in November, three months after Winwood Properties filed an eviction notice. Filed Sept. 24 with the Magistrate Court of Gwinnett County, the notice said Greg Leakes owed $6,240 in past due rent. “The tenant said they would move by Sept. 14 because they could no longer afford the house,” the notice said. The Leakeses moved into the home shortly after it was built in 2006, Pierce said.
Despite running a fever, Tina Turner did the Garden. People are still talking about how the 69-year-old Tina Turner who, despite having had a fever so high on Monday that she was hospitalized, wowed the crowd peppered with celebrities at New York’s Madison Square Garden Monday night. Whoopi Goldberg raved about her the next morning on “The View,” urging every woman in the audience to go see the show. Other celebs attending “An Evening with Tina Turner” Monday night included Anne Hathaway, MTV head Toni DiSanto, Tom Cruise and his wife, Katie Holmes – who were celebrating their second anniversary, and Molly Simms, reports The New York Post’s Page Six. The celebs, when brought backstage to meet Turner before the show, were told because of her illness, that “no one is to shake her hand, and she cannot talk before performing [because of the illness]. She’s very shy.” But Turner not only shook hands but spoke with each guest, noted the Post. The eight-time Grammy-winner was determined to stick to her tour schedule and pressed ahead with her gig on Monday, reported The San Francisco Chronicle. There was no word on exactly what caused Turner’s illness.