Now that all the gory details of Oprah Winfrey’s school scandal at Oprah Winfrey’s South African school are out, Winfrey, who has made multiple trips to and from Africa in the past few weeks, is struggling to diffuse the situation and regain the trust of students and their families.
“I’ve disappointed you. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” the talk show queen told families in an emergency meeting at the South African school in Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg…
Oprah, who has spoken openly about being abused as a child, gave the girls her personal telephone number, her e-mail address and her postal address so that they could contact her around the clock.
She also suspended both the principal and another dormitory matron. I seriously doubt Oprah would cut corners when it came to hiring, and I am almost positive this sexually abusive dormitory matron just slipped through the cracks. Is it possible to feel bad for a billionaire?
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Some people might think that when Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement doesn’t make a difference in the polls, it’s time to give up. But Barack Obama isn’t “some people.” And that’s why he’s called on the services of the Butter Cow Lady to forge a lead over Hillary once and for all.
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) needs to make a cultural connection with the rural caucus-goers of Iowa, a state that will make or break his presidential campaign.
So Obama has enlisted Duffy Lyon, a farmer famous for sculpting cows out of butter at the Iowa State Fair, to give him tractor cred on the radio, amid the farm news and pickin’ music.
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As details emerge, it’s apparent that the rumored crisis at Oprah’s South African school went a bit further than some unauthorized corporal punishment. A South African newspaper printed the allegations — which are certain to disgust Oprah, a child abuse victim– against a fired dormitory matron at the boarding school.
The woman, who has since been removed from the campus, allegedly grabbed a girl by the throat and threw her against a wall. Other alleged charges were that she swore and screamed at the girls, assaulted them and had sexually fondled at least one of them, according to Rapport newspaper.
The alleged incidents went public after one of the pupils ran away from the school because the abuse had become intolerable, according to Rapport. Her parents immediately notified the school…
The TV mogul met with the school’s executive and private investigators and held a two-hour meeting with the parents of her students, who were flown to Johannesburg from all over the country. A report by a private investigator flown in from the United States to conduct an inquiry with a South African counterpart has been turned over to the local police.
It’s pretty ballsy to try some shady shit at an Oprah-owned facility. She does not like to be crossed. I guess they didn’t show her James Frey episode in South Africa.
[EUR]
If you were wondering why Oprah Winfrey did not show up to an awards show last week honoring her friend Julia Roberts (because I was certainly losing sleep over the question), it turns out there is some drama going on at the media queen’s much-hyped school for girls, and Child Protection Services, South African and U.S. police, and Oprah herself were called in to handle a situation involving the misconduct of a dormitory matron. I think we can all imagine what that means.
The details are being kept confidential, but the girls are being offered psychological counseling. Countdown to the inevitable attacks from Oprah’s critics begins now.
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• So much better! It turns out (surprise) Fox News had it wrong. Nas does have an album coming out, on December 11, and it will be called Nigger, not Nigga. He’s “taking back the word,” which is what they all say. Uh, yay? []
• Ah. The classic, “faulty thyroid” defense. []
• Yung Joc better watch his back. And get rid of his guns. [SOHH]
• Last Facebook post of the day. Promise. [Jossip]
• Can Leona Lewis cross over to American audiences? You be the judge. [CL]
Oprah Winfrey has spent a lot of time and money on Barack Obama, as have Magic Johnson and other supporters on Hillary Clinton, Danny Glover on John Edwards, etc. But do big name celebrity backers really made a difference when it comes time to vote? Will Al Gore’s pending endorsement make any sweeping changes in the polls? Yes and no, experts say. Voters who are big on global warming issues might take a Gore endorsement very seriously. And daytime television watchers and basketball fans might be swayed by Winfrey or Johnson. But many endosements, particularly celebrity ones, don’t really show up in the polls.
Shea weighed the importance of other endorsements from labor unions and celebrities. Labor unions, he said, can offer a campaign volunteers who work night and day knocking on voters’ doors and work in “phone banks” to recruit other volunteers and votes. Labor unions also help a candidate with raising money, which Shea called the “mother’s milk of politics.”
He also discussed the importance of celebrity endorsements. Television talk show host Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of fellow African American Barack Obama, for instance, has not helped lift Obama’s numbers in the public opinion polls for president.
Shea said Winfrey has succeeded in going beyond the “color barrier” in America and is “venerated by lots of people, not just in the African-American community.” Winfrey’s endorsement, he said, translates into more money and exposure for Obama.
I feel slighted. The “experts” in this story didn’t analyze blog endorsements, which obviously have the power to change the tide of an entire election.
[USINFO]
A lot of talk went on in the comments yesterday about “real hip hop” vs. the stuff Oprah and Bill Cosby listen to and judge, and I thought I would post one of my faves from the talented, long-lasting, well-known, yet widely-ignored Roots, 1995’s “Proceed.” Black Thought is kind of ageless, isn’t he? I can’t say the same for ?uestlove, who looks like a baby in this video.
How does the wife of the second richest person in television thank the No. 1 richest person in television for allowing her to plug her nasty cookbook on the air? Shoes. Lots and lots of shoes. Jessica Seinfeld, wife of Jerry, thanked Oprah Winfrey for letting her come on the show by sending her 21 pairs of shoes. Most were Christian Louboutin. Couldn’t make this stuff up, guys.
[HP]
Bill Cosby, one of the most vocal and outspoken critics of both black people and hip hop who’s not employed by Fox News, went on Meet the Press recently to discuss his new book, Come On People: On the Path from Victims to Victors. I never think Bill Cosby is totally wrong when he comes out and speaks about hip hop, just like I don’t think that Oprah Winfrey is. In fact, I sort of feel like they’re mostly right.
Still, there is a lot about the music and the culture they don’t understand, and, as a result, they present their arguments in a way that puts the people making the music and its fans on the defensive instead of making them stop and think. At this point, though, I wonder if anything is going to make an artist who has netted millions off of the degradation of women and the promotion of violence actually stop and think. If Heathcliff Huxtable can’t do it, who can?
[RTNY]
• Rihanna seen making out with Josh Hartnett? I see it more than that Shia LaBeouf thing. []
• Twice, Foxy Brown has refused to get on the correction department bus that’s supposed to transport her from Rikers to the Brooklyn courthouse. Just because. [SP]
• Usher and Tameka get some good PR from Essence. []
• Whatever, you know Oprah has someone carrying her bags for her. [Jossip]
• With the proceeds from her monstrously successful album, from which she keeps pulling singles to make videos for, Fergie should get Will.i.am some teeth-whitening. [CL]
