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The Swiss sales assistant who refused to show Oprah Winfrey a luxury handbag costing nearly $35,000 claims the superstar lied about what happened in the Trois Pommes luxury boutique where she works.
Speaking anonymously to Sunday newspaper SonntagsBlick, the Italian bag lady said she felt “powerless” and in the grip of a “cyclone” after Oprah Winfrey went on TV in America to claim she had been the victim of racism.
Oprah Winfrey was in Switzerland in July when she walked into the Trois Pommes boutique in Zurich looking for a handbag to match the outfit she was going to wear to old friend Tina Turner’s wedding.
She claims the sales assistant refused to show her the black crocodile leather bag because – seeing a black woman – she automatically assumed she would not be able to afford it.
Now the saleslady has hit back, stating: “I wasn’t sure what I should present to her when she came in on the afternoon of Saturday July 20 so I showed her some bags from the Jennifer Aniston collection.
“I explained to her the bags came in different sizes and materials, like I always do.
“She looked at a frame behind me. Far above there was the 35,000 Swiss franc crocodile leather bag.
“I simply told her that it was like the one I held in my hand, only much more expensive, and that I could show her similar bags.
“It is absolutely not true that I declined to show her the bag on racist grounds. I even asked her if she wanted to look at the bag.
Oprah Winfrey claims Trois Pommes sales assistant refused to show her a black crocodile leather bag because, seeing a black woman, she automatically assumed she would not be able to afford it
“She looked around the store again but didn’t say anything else. Then she went with her companion to the lower floor. My colleague saw them to the door. They were not even in the store for five minutes.”
She emphatically denied ever saying to Oprah Winfrey: “You don’t want to see this bag. It is too expensive. You cannot afford it.”
The saleslady went on: “This is not true. This is absurd. I would never say something like that to a customer. Really never. Good manners and politeness are the Alpha and the Omega in this business.
“I don’t know why she is making these accusations. She is so powerful and I am just a shop girl.
“I didn’t hurt anyone. I don’t know why someone as great as her must cannibalize me on TV.
“If it had all taken place as she claimed, why has she not complained the next day at the wedding of Tina Turner with Trudie Goetz, my boss? She was there also at the Turner wedding as a guest. I don’t understand it.
“I spoke to Oprah Winfrey in English. My English is okay but not excellent, unfortunately.
“I didn’t know who she was when she came into the store. That wouldn’t have made any difference if I had.
“We work really hard to greet all the people who come into the store with the same level of respect and treat them all equally.
“If someone asks me whether he or she can see an article, I always present these. Because that person is a potential buyer. And my job is to sell it.
“I’m glad if I can sell an article. It is a reward for me, if I can sell a nice piece. This means that I’m good at my job.”
She has worked in the store for five years and says 50% of the clientele come from abroad and that a bag costing nearly $35,000 is sold “only a few times a year”.
Asked what she would say to Oprah Winfrey now she added: “I would apologize and say it was all a misunderstanding. I surely did not intentionally want to insult Ms. Winfrey. I hope this nightmare ends soon.”
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Simon Cowell tops Forbes magazine’s list of highest-earning TV personalities in 2012-13 after raking $95 million in just 12 months.
Simon Cowell, 53, was tied with radio and television presenter Howard Stern, who is also host on America’s Got Talent, reported the New York Post.
The X Factor now airs in 41 countries around the world, and Got Talent has become the biggest selling franchise, spreading to Afghanistan and Vietnam.
Simon Cowell recently hit the headlines when it was announced that he is to have a baby with married socialite Lauren Silverman.
Simon Cowell tops Forbes magazine’s list of highest-earning TV personalities in 2012-13 after raking $95 million in just 12 months
Lauren Silverman, 36, who is 11 weeks’ pregnant with the pop mogul’s child, has made it clear to friends that it is her intention to marry Simon Cowell as soon as her divorce comes through.
Her brother-in-law, Alexander Silverman, insisted that news of her pregnancy constituted a breach of trust by Simon Cowell, as he had been close friends with both Lauren and millionaire husband Andrew.
Simon Cowell, who is worth an estimated $305 million, insisted he will do everything he can to support and provide for his child after the news broke that Lauren Silverman is expecting.
Also on the Forbes list was Oprah Winfrey who made $77 million, down from her $165 million in 2011/12.
The Apprentice host Donald Trump also appeared, raking in $63 million in just one year.
American Idol host Ryan Seacrest ($61 million), Ellen DeGeneres ($56 million) and Judge Judy Sheindlin ($47 million) also made the list of top TV earners.
Phil McGraw came fifth as he managed to make $72 million from his Dr Phil daytime television.
Trudie Goetz, the owner of Zurich store where Oprah Winfrey says she encountered racism, has called the incident a “misunderstanding”.
Oprah Winfrey, one of the world’s richest women, claimed an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop.
She was apparently told one of the bags on display was “too expensive” for her.
Trudie Goetz told the BBC that Oprah Winfrey was “absolutely allowed” to look at the $35,000 bag, which was kept behind a screen.
“My salesperson wanted to give her the handbag in her hand. But she didn’t want to take the bag,” claimed Trudie Goetz.
The shop owner said her assistant had worked in the Trois Pommes store “for a few years and takes care of the most spoilt customers from all over the world”, adding, “she is really a correct sales person”.
Oprah Winfrey visited Zurich last month to attend Tina Turner’s wedding. Her programme The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.
Oprah Winfrey, one of the world’s richest women, claimed an assistant refused to serve her in a Zurich upmarket handbag shop
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Oprah Winfrey said: “I go into a store and I say to the woman, <<Excuse me, may I see the bag right above your head?>> and she says to me, <<No. It’s too expensive>>. “
When Oprah Winfrey insisted, the shop assistant allegedly replied: “No, no you don’t want to see that one, you want to see this one because that one will cost too much. You will not be able to afford that.”
The star said she left the shop calmly without arguing, but that the experience was proof that racism continues to be a problem.
“There’s two different ways to handle it,” Oprah Winfrey said.
“I could’ve had the whole blow-up thing… but it still exists, of course it does.”
Trudie Goetz did not call into question Oprah Winfrey’s perception of the events.
“I didn’t take care of [Oprah Winfrey]. I’m sure she felt like this – but my salesgirl promised me she took care of [her] really the best she could. So it must have been a misunderstanding,” she said.
Trudie Goetz said her assistant spoke both Italian and English, “but her English isn’t as good”.
“She tried to show Mrs. Oprah the same style in other qualities, because maybe she didn’t understand what she wanted.”
Oprah Winfrey’s claims come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from some public places.
Human rights groups have likened the plans – which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries – to apartheid.
Officials say the curbs, which will also see asylum-seekers housed in special centres, are aimed at preventing tensions with residents.
About 48,000 people are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average.
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Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland.
The talk show host said an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop in Zurich.
Oprah Winfrey, one of the world’s richest women, was apparently told the bags on display were “too expensive” for her.
Her claims, made to a US television programme, come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from some public places.
Human rights groups have likened the plans – which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries – to apartheid.
Oprah Winfrey was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland
Oprah Winfrey, who stars in Lee Daniels’ new film The Butler, visited Zurich last month to attend singer Tina Turner’s wedding. The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.
She said she left the shop calmly without arguing, but that the experience was proof that racism continues to be a problem.
“There’s two different ways to handle it,” Oprah Winfrey said.
“I could’ve had the whole blow-up thing… but it still exists, of course it does.”
About 48,000 people are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average.
Officials say the curbs, which will also see asylum-seekers housed in special centres, are aimed at preventing tensions with residents.
Switzerland’s asylum laws were tightened in June.
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Oprah Winfrey is wearing a giant afro wig on the cover of the September issue of her magazine O.
Oprah Winfrey, 59, who is featured on the cover of every issue, released the image on her social media accounts on Monday.
In her monthly magazine column, the media mogul nicknamed the wig Wild Thang and likened wearing the 3.5-pound weave to “carrying around an extra head”.
“I wish I could say it was all mine,” Oprah Winfrey said in her monthly magazine column.
“My own hair is shorter, not quite to spherical, and a lot lighter. But that doesn’t mean it never gives me grief. When it comes to hair, I’m in the same boat as most every other woman.”
Dressed in a figure-hugging orange dress and simple gold jewellery, Oprah Winfrey was so enamored with the photo that she made it her profile picture on Facebook and Twitter.
Oprah Winfrey wrote: “Just revealed this new over of O, The Oprah Magazine – one of my faves ever – Let’s talk about HAIR! Love this cover so much, I’m making it my new profile pic!”
“For almost 30 years, I’ve had the luxury of a hairdresser, Andre Walker, who loves all kinds of textures and adores experimenting,” she added.
“Hence this month’s cover; we call the wig I’m wearing Wild Thang!”
Oprah Winfrey graces the cover of her O magazine in huge 3.5 lbs afro wig
Oprah has addressed the issue of having a “natural” hairstyle in the past, saying she prefers to wear her hair without blow-drying or straitening on weekends and on holiday.
“This is the <<do>> my grandmother had to deal with when I was a little girl, braiding and unbraiding it regularly to keep it strong,” she said in an editorial published in the September 2012 issue of O Magazine.
“I like wearing my hair this way on the weekends and on vacation – it makes me feel unencumbered.”
Oprah Winfrey continued, saying her best friend Gayle King refers to her natural locks as looking like “you put your finger in a light socket”.
This is not the first time Oprah Winfrey has undergone a major transformation in her more than three decades in the spotlight.
The talk show host endeared herself with viewers by not being afraid to tackle tough subjects including her struggles with weight and her appearance.
In 1988 Oprah famously returned from a summer hiatus carrying out a wagon with a large block of fat to represent her nearly 70 pound weight loss.
Over the years her look has changed as her figure has yo-yo’d up and down in size, her hair also taking a hit as she has worn it curly, straightened, and often resorted to wearing wigs.
“I’ve worn weaves on the show,” she said.
“I’ve worn weaves on the magazine covers.”
While she continues to be an influence to her more than 20 million Twitter followers and 8.4 million more on Facebook, Oprah has struggled to find an audience for her OWN network Since calling quits to her popular syndicated program in 2011.
In her new interview programme Oprah’s Next Chapter, she has sat down with many celebrity names, including landing the first big interviews with disgraced American cyclist Lance Armstrong and fresh out of rehab starlet Lindsay Lohan.
Oprah Winfrey is next set to appear in her first movie role since 1985’s The Color Purple in The Butler with Forest Whitaker.
Lindsay Lohan appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s show in an exclusive sit-down interview.
Oprah Winfrey, 59, asked Lindsay Lohan, 27, who has just got out of rehab after a 90 days stint: “Are you an addict?”
Lindsay Lohan wore a bright orange frock with her trademark hair tied back complete with polka dot shoes as she faced-off with Oprah Winfrey in a serene looking room.
Oprah Winfrey, sitting on a white chair, directly opposite Lindsay Lohan wore a grey cardigan, white shirts and black pants for the interview that will air or Oprah’s Next Chapter on August 18.
The chat host continued: “What does it feel like to be both an adjective and a verb for child-star-gone-wrong?”
The exclusive conversation is just one part of Lindsay Lohan’s plan to turn her life around by getting sober once again.
Oprah Winfrey hits Lindsay Lohan with addict question in an exclusive interview
Lindsay Lohan did a guest-hosting stint on Chelsea Lately (which airs on Monday), along with giving Oprah Winfrey an in-depth interview about her time in rehab.
OWN is also producing an eight-part docu-series chronicling Lindsay Lohan on her mission to rebuild her career and stay sober.
Additionally, a close Lindsay Lohan source exclusively told E! News: “She is taking this really serious. She wants people to know the days of her clubbing and partying are over and she is a new girl.”
LiLo certainly looks a lot healthier these days and she recorded the Chelsea Lately Show just two days after leaving her latest stint in rehab.
According to TMZ, sources on set said the actress was “very funny”, mocking host Chelsea Handler for drinking too much and holding her own during a roundtable with comedians Jen Kirkman and Fortune Feimster.
Lindsay Lohan interview will air on OWN on Sunday, August 18, 9/8C.
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Lindsay Lohan is reportedly negotiating a $2 million deal for reality TV series on Oprah Winfrey’s network.
Lindsay Lohan, 27, has allegedly been negotiating the lucrative deal for the past four months, managing to wrangle the huge sum for spilling her secrets in an eight-part documentary for Oprah Winfrey’s OWN.
According to TMZ.com, when Lindsay Lohan films the TV specials – after she completes her court ordered 90-day stint in rehab next month – she will be given two assistants to wait on her hand and foot as well as a personal stylist to ensure she looks her best on set.
The series will focus on Lindsay Lohan’s past struggles with addictions and fame, as well as her film career and her hopes for the future.
Lindsay Lohan is said to have signed the deal with Oprah Winfrey at the Betty Ford Clinic last month – from which she has subsequently been transferring from – even before she was properly on the road to recovery.
Lindsay Lohan negotiates $2 million deal for docu-series on Oprah Winfrey’s network
Her mother, Dina Lohan, is thrilled her daughter is set to follow in the footsteps of Lance Armstrong and Rihanna by being given a chance to tell Oprah Winfrey her story.
Dina Lohan recently gushed: “Oh, it’s fantastic. If anyone is going to help mentor you, it’s going to be Oprah.”
Oprah Winfrey’s network announced the news on Friday that it would be airing an eight party reality series after Lindsay Lohan emerges from court enforced rehab.
In an attempt to distance the program from the negative connections connected to reality television, OWN have dubbed the eight-part television event a docu-series.
Entertainment Weekly revealed that the cable channel had not only secured the rights to the first interview with Lindsay Lohan after she finishes her 90-day stint at the Ciffside centre in Malibu, California, but the likely to be highly anticipated series as well.
A spokesperson for Oprah Winfrey’s network told Entertainment Weekly: “OWN will air an exclusive interview with Oprah and Lindsay Lohan that will tape and air in August.”
Lindsay Lohan’s fans will have to wait a lot longer for the docu-series, with the spokesperson confirming it will not air until 2014.
However, those expecting an inside view of the shambles the star’s life has become since her multiple arrests may be disappointed.
The eight-part series is sold as more of an inspirational show than a side show, described as following “the actress as she works to rebuild her career and stay healthy”.
Lindsay Lohan, who turned 27 last week, is set for release from rehab on July 31.
Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network would be airing an eight party reality series after Lindsay Lohan emerges from court enforced rehab.
In an attempt to distance the program from the negative connections connected to reality television, OWN have dubbed the eight-part television event a docu-series.
Entertainment Weekly revealed that the cable channel had not only secured the rights to the first interview with Lindsay Lohan, 27, after she finishes her 90-day stint at the Ciffside centre in Malibu, California, but the likely to be highly anticipated series as well.
A spokesperson for Oprah Winfrey’s network told Entertainment Weekly: “OWN will air an exclusive interview with Oprah and Lindsay Lohan that will tape and air in August.”
Lindsay Lohan fans will have to wait a lot longer for the docu-series, with the spokesperson confirming it will not air until 2014.
However, those expecting an inside view of the shambles the star’s life has become since her mutiple arrests may be disappointed.
Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network would be airing an eight party reality series after Lindsay Lohan emerges from court enforced rehab
The eight-part series is sold as more of an inspirational show than a side show, described as following “the actress as she works to rebuild her career and stay healthy”.
This is not the first time television has tried to make a reality series about Lindsay Lohan’s life.
According to Entertainment Weekly: “Lohan has turned down unscripted project offers for years, preferring to focus on scripted acting roles.”
However, Lindsay Lohan and her family did feature in reality show Living Lohan that aired on E! in 2008.
Prior to Lindsay Lohan’s legal dramas, it was not well received with one critic even describing it as “not just a symptom of cultural decay but an active agent of it”.
Anderson Cooper also slammed the show saying: “I cannot believe I’m wasting a minute of my life watching these horrific people.”
Lindsay Lohan, who turned 27 last week, is not set for release from rehab until July 31.
She will be out however, just in time for the release of her latest film The Canyons.
Premiering August 2, The Canyons – written by Bret Easton Ellis and directed by Paul Schrader – sees Lindsay Lohan play a girl who “sold her pride for material comfort”.
Lindsay Lohan’s character – who stars along side James Deen – laments about her need to stay away from Hollywood’s intrusion in her life.
Forbes calculated celebrity’s earnings on income from tours, books, contracts, endorsements, movies and residuals and each star was given a marketability score, created by California market research firm E-Poll.
1. Oprah Winfrey $77 million (income this year)
2. Lady Gaga $80 million
3. Steven Spielberg $100 million
4. Beyonce $53 million
5. Madonna $125 million
6. Taylor Swift $55 million
Oprah Winfrey is back in her throne on top of Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful celebrities
7. Jon Bon Jovi $79 million
8. Roger Federer $71 million
9. Justin Bieber $58 million
10. Ellen DeGeneres $56 million
11. Hugh Jackman $55 milllion
12. Jennifer Lopez $45 million
13. Rihanna $43 million
14. Coldplay $64 million
15. Tiger Woods $78 million
16. LeBron James $60 million
17. Simon Cowell $95 million
18. Katy Perry $39 million
19. David Beckham $47 million
20. Robert Downey Jr. $75 million
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Oprah Winfrey is back on top of Forbes‘ list of the world’s most powerful celebrities – Forbes’ Celebrity 100 – after a two-year stint in the runner-up seat.
Oprah Winfrey, 59, knocked Jennifer Lopez off the spot and into number 12, but still shares the top ten winners’ enclosure arena with a multitude of women.
There are six girls in the plum positions – and the only man to make it into the top five is film director Steven Spielberg, who, coming third, is sandwiched between Lady Gaga in second and Beyonce in fourth.
Madonna comes fifth and Taylor Swift makes her top 10 debut at number six in the annual Top 100 compiled by Forbes magazine, which is based on income over a 12-month period and fame, as defined by a media presence across all platforms, as well as social media power.
Writer E.L. James is newcomer to the list at number 42, proving that celebrities with clout can come from anywhere. E.L. James has sold 70 million copies of her books and earned an estimated $77 million in the last 12 months.
Oprah Winfrey is back on top of Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful celebrities
Forbes calculated celebrity’s earnings on income from tours, books, contracts, endorsements, movies and residuals and each star was given a marketability score, created by California market research firm E-Poll.
The magazine credits Oprah Winfrey’s $77 million earnings between June 2012 and June 2013 – as well as her prominence on TV, on social media and in the press – for her placing.
Forbes writer Dorothy Pomerantz said: “She still wields an enormous amount of power, which is really what we look for in our fame matrix.
“She is taking this cable network and turning it around just through the sheer force of her will, her connections and her ability.”
Oprah Winfrey, who has topped the list on four previous occasions, is one of three celebrities who have featured on the prestigious list every year since its inception in 1999, along with radio DJ Howard Stern and director Steven Spielberg.
But she wasn’t the highest earning star over the last year. Madonna earned $125 million between June 2012 and June 2013.
Last year’s number one, Jennifer Lopez – who topped the chart thanks to her public profile and earnings of $52 million – drops to 12 on this year’s countdown.
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga, despite being forced to cancel numerous dates on her moneymaking Born This Way Ball tour due to hip surgery earlier this year, earned $80 million from the global jaunt.
Forbes also cites the 27-year-old star’s devoted fan following on social media for her lofty ranking.
Dorothy Pomerantz said: “She is still a huge force in pop music. Even when she is not playing, people are talking about her and speculating about her.”
Forbes also deciphered how often individual stars appeared in the media and used Starcount – a Singapore-based company that studies celebrity’s presence on 11 different social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to assess popularity and influence.
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Talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey is donating $12 million towards a new museum in Washington DC dedicated to African American history.
After previously giving $1 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, her total contribution is its biggest so far.
The museum on Washington’s National Mall is due to be completed in 2015.
It will house a 35-seat theatre named after Oprah Winfrey, who is also a member of the museum’s advisory council.
Lonnie Bunch, director of the museum said the media mogul had been very much involved in its creation and talks were taking place to acquire memorabilia from her career.
He said he would love to have one of the microphone’s used during her television show – one of the most-watched programmes in US history, which ended after 25 years in 2011 – to add to the museum’s collection of more than 22,000 items.
The collection helps to tell the story of African American history from slavery to the post-Civil War period, the civil rights era, the Harlem Renaissance and the 21st Century.
Oprah Winfrey is donating $12 million to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC
In a statement released by the museum, Oprah Winfrey said: “I am deeply appreciative of those who paved the path for me and all who follow in their footsteps.”
“By investing in this museum, I want to help ensure that we both honor and preserve our culture and history, so that the stories of who we are will live on for generations to come,” she added.
Costing $500 million to build, the US government is providing half of the funding with the remainder being raised through private donations.
When in opens in 2015, it will be the 19th Smithsonian museum.
Some of the items which will be displayed include the glass-topped casket that held the body of 14-year-old Emmett Till, whose 1955 murder in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman helped spark the civil rights movement.
The museum’s most recent big acquisition was a South Carolina slave cabin dating from the 19th Century.
The cabin from Edisto Island was disassembled in May in preparation for its move to the museum.
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Amanda Berry and her fellow captives Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight are enjoying their first weekend of freedom after escaping the clutches of brutal Ariel Castro.
Amanda Berry, 27, Gina DeJesus, 23, and Michelle Knight, 32, are set to become overnight millionaires by telling their harrowing stories from the Cleveland horror house.
Oprah Winfrey is said to have offered Amanda Berry $300,000 to do her first interview.
A source close to Gina DeJesus claimed she was so traumatized that she was unable to sleep in a bedroom.
“She was locked in a room for so long that she is now sleeping on an inflatable mattress in the living room,” the source said.
“She can’t stand the idea of being in a small room. She walks around the garden. She is beautifying herself, doing her nails and hair and experimenting with make-up. She’s been catching up on everything, reading women’s magazines, trying to figure out what she has missed and who the Kardashians are.”
Amanda Berry and her fellow captives Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight are enjoying their first weekend of freedom after escaping the clutches of brutal Ariel Castro
Michelle Knight, 32, has been dubbed “the forgotten victim” because her disappearance was never taken seriously by police. She vanished in 2002 aged 20 after her young son was taken into care.
The source revealed that she refused to see family members, including her mother, after her release, preferring to stay at the DeJesus family home.
When Amanda Berry had her daughter Jocelyn, which DNA tests have confirmed was fathered by Ariel Castro, she was given “favored” status by her captor, the source added.
“Castro referred to Amanda as his girlfriend and showered affection on Jocelyn. When they were rescued, Jocelyn was crying for her daddy. She is confused and doesn’t understand what is going on.”
Ariel Castro’s daughter Angie said that he showed her a photograph of a child she now believes was Jocelyn in February. Amanda Berry’s mother Louwana died aged 48 while her daughter was imprisoned. She went to her grave believing she had spoken to her daughter’s kidnapper.
After Amanda Berry had been missing for three days, the story was covered on a news bulletin, after which she received a phone call from a man who told her Amanda was with him.
In a TV interview Louwana Berry gave after the call in 2002, she said: “So I’m begging him to let me speak with her, just to let me know if she’s there. And he hesitated and said, <<I’ll have her home in a few days>>. I kept begging for him to let me speak with her. And he hung up.”
Cleveland police refused to say whether Ariel Castro had confessed to making the call, saying: “We don’t comment on an ongoing investigation.”
Beyonce sat down with Oprah Winfrey for Oprah’s Next Chapter, revealing how she’s mended the relationship with her father.
A 30-second clip of the interview released by Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network shows Beyonce and the media mogul smiling as they sit down and appear to share an “Aha!” moment.
Beyonce severed her professional relationship with her father in 2011, while rumors of family tension ravaged headlines.
Two years later, Beyonce is opening up about “letting go” of her father and former manager, Mathew Knowles, in a candid new interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The energy becomes more serious as the television host questions her once fractious relationship with her father.
“Talk some about letting your father go as your manager,” Oprah Winfrey asks, the clip cutting to Beyonce nodding as she contemplates a question.
Mathew Knowles, and Beyonce’s mother Tina, played a pivotal role in the singer’s career.
He quit his job as a medical equipment salesman to manage Beyonce’s early group, Girl’s Tyme, which eventually morphed into Destiny’s Child in 1990.
Twenty-one years later, in 2011, she ended their professional relationship, while relaying that their personal relationship remained full “of love”.
Rumors circulated about more going on behind-the-scenes than Beyonce let on as Mathew and Tina Knowles headed for divorce.
Ties were after all not easy to sever with Mathew Knowles having producer credits on many of his daughter’s projects and serving as the founder of Music World Entertainment, a label that, through Columbia Records, has released albums by Beyoncé, sister Solange Knowles, Sunshine Anderson, and former Destiny’s Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.
Beyonce sat down with Oprah Winfrey for Oprah’s Next Chapter, revealing how she’s mended the relationship with her father
Beyoncé has only spoken briefly in the past about the pair’s relationship.
“It took a while for me and my dad to have an understanding,” she once said.
“When I turned 18 and started handling my business more, he went into shock. And we had our issues. I’d say <<No>> to something, and he’d book it anyway.
“Then I’d have to do it because I’d look bad [if I didn’t]. We would fight sometimes, and it took about two years, to when I was 20, for him to realize, <<Oh, she is an adult now, and if she doesn’t wanna do something, I can’t make her do it>>.”
Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey will also apparently touch on the miscarriage the singer kept private for years, her husband, Jay-Z, and their baby daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.
The couple married in 2008 but have been notoriously tight-lipped about their relationship.
Since the birth of their first child in January 2012, Beyonce has slowly opened up about her home life.
In a more light-hearted moment, Oprah Winfrey asks: “When you get to the point when you can say, on camera, <<I’m going to make love to my husband… How big is the Carter family going to expand to?”
Beyonce laughs.
“Lord, I’m gonna have me a time,” she says in another clip as the video cuts to the next question.
They also talked about Beyonce’s new HBO documentary, Life Is But A Dream.
The film, which Beyonce co-directed, is part of a return to performing after a year off since Blue Ivy was born.
The HBO film shows footage of a sonogram, Beyonce’s growing bump and grainy video of herself posing nude as she neared her due date.
She also opens up about the miscarriage kept secret from the public until Jay-Z referred to it in his song Glory, released after their daughter’s birth.
In the documentary, Beyonce touched on the topic briefly, saying: “It was the saddest thing I’ve ever been through.”
“My life is a journey. … I had to go through my miscarriage, I believe I had to go through owning my company and managing myself … ultimately your independence comes from knowing who you are and you being happy with yourself,” she said.
Beyonce has also announced a new album for this year.
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour – Jay-Z’s real name is Shawn Carter – will kick off in April with more than 40 performances in Europe and North America.
Life is But a Dream airs on HBO on Saturday, the same day as Beyonce’s interview with Oprah Winfrey on the OWN cable channel.
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Drew Barrymore spoke to Oprah Winfrey about her battles with motherhood as she tries to raise 4-month-old daughter Olive away from the spotlight.
The interview is the first time ever that Drew Barrymore has opened up her home she shares with husband Will Kopelman to cameras, and it’s only fitting she did it for her neighbor.
Oprah Winfrey and Drew Barrymore both own homes in the posh Santa Barbara, California enclave of Montecito.
“In Drew’s backyard swing,” Oprah Winfrey posted on her Twitter account last week.
“Just discovered we live less than 2 miles from each other.”
Drew Barrymore talked about how she plans to shape her new career as a mother as well as troubles with her own, whom she didn’t invite to her wedding in 2012.
“She was not there, which was very hard,” the actress said.
“We both discussed it and thought it would be best to keep her away from the ceremony.”
Drew Barrymore spoke to Oprah Winfrey about her battles with motherhood as she tries to raise 4-month-old daughter Olive away from the spotlight
Drew Barrymore and her mother had a tumultuous past, anchored mostly in Drew’s rebellious childhood in which she started abusing drugs and alcohol from an early age.
She had her first drink at 9, began smoking marijuana at 10, and took cocaine at 12.
Drew Barrymore had multiple stints in rehab in her early teens and at 15, she moved into an LA apartment on her own after being granted an emancipation decree from her parents.
Oprah Winfrey asked Drew Barrymore specifically what she could learn from her childhood – a question that brought the star nearly to tears.
“As a kid what I craved the most was just believing that [my mom] was going to be there,” she said.
“I think the world offers so many wonderful varieties of obstacles, but that shouldn’t be one for kids – is the worry that <<my parents won’t be there>>.”
Oprah Winfrey also asked her about how she plans on telling her daughter about her own series of missteps – especially in the world of Google.
“I will absolutely instill in her that you cannot be ashamed of the journey that it took to get where you are if you are proud of yourself.
“But I will also try to instill on her that I did not have guidance and that is why I lived my life that way.”
Drew Barrymore continued, with the most telling bit of advice: “There is no option for her to take that path because she has guidance.”
The full hour long interview is set to air on OWN on Sunday.
Cyclist Lance Armstrong has questioned during interview with Oprah Winfrey whether he deserves his “death penalty” punishment which means he is banned from all sports because of his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Lance Armstrong compared his lifelong ban to six-month penalties given to others.
In the second part of his interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong, 41, said: “I deserve to be punished. I’m not sure I deserve a death penalty.
“I’d love the opportunity to compete, but that isn’t why I’m doing this.”
The second round of Lance Armstrong’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, 58, was broadcast on prime time television on her OWN network in America, and was streamed worldwide through her website.
In the first part of the interview Lance Armstrong ended years of denials by admitting using performance-enhancing drugs during all seven of his Tour de France wins.
During part two, in which he fought back tears as he discussed the impact on his family, Lance armstrong revealed:
- he wants the life ban in sports lifted but accepts that is unlikely
- he feels “disgraced, humbled and ashamed” by his actions
- his “most humbling moment” was being asked to step aside by cancer charity Livestrong
- the moment he confessed to his son and said: “don’t defend me anymore”
- his actions had left his mother a “wreck”
- his sponsors leaving him was a “$75 million day”
Of his desire to return to sport, Lance Armstrong said he wasn’t looking to take part in the Tour de France again, but added: “If you’re asking me if I want to compete again, the answer is <<hell yeah, I’m a competitor>>. It’s what I’ve done all my life. I want to race, want to toe the line.
“There are lots of things I can’t do because of the ban. If there is a window of opportunity would I like to run the Chicago Marathon when I’m 50? Yes.
“When you see the punishment… I got a death penalty meaning I can’t compete. I’m not saying that is unfair but it is different.”
Lance Armstrong said he “selfishly” wanted his life ban to be lifted.
“Realistically, I don’t think that will happen and I’ve got to live with that,” he added.
Lance Armstrong started the second part of the interview by telling the US chat show host he felt “disgraced, humbled and ashamed” at his use of performance-enhancing drugs.
“Do I have remorse? Absolutely. Will it grow? Absolutely,” he said.
“This is the first step and these are my actions. I am paying the price but I deserve it.
“The ultimate crime is the betrayal of these people who support me and believed in me and they got lied to.”
Lance Armstrong said what he had done hit home when his cancer charity Livestrong asked him to step aside last year.
“That was the most humbling moment,” he said.
Lance Armstrong has questioned during interview with Oprah Winfrey whether he deserves being banned from all sports because of his use of performance-enhancing drugs
Lance Armstrong, who launched Livestrong after battling cancer in the mid-1990s, said sponsors started to leave him following the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation last year.
USADA said Lance Armstrong was a “serial cheat” who had led “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme sport has ever seen”.
He said: “Nike called and said that they’re out. Then the calls started coming.
“A couple of days: everybody out.”
Lance Armstrong described the period in which his sponsors dropped him as a” $75 million dollar day”. “All gone. Probably never coming back,” he said.
“I’ve lost all future income.”
Outlining the build-up to Livestrong’s decision, Lance Armstrong added: “The story was getting out of control which was my worst nightmare. I had this place in my mind they would all leave. The one I didn’t think would leave was the foundation.
“The foundation is like my sixth child and to make that decision and step aside was big.
“I was aware of the pressure and it was the best thing for the organisation but it hurt like hell.”
Lance Armstrong fought back tears as he described the impact of his actions on his five children.
“They know a lot,” he said.
“They hear it in the hallways. Their schools, their classmates have been very supportive. Where you lose control with your kids is when they go out of that space: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, in the feedback columns.
“When this all really started, I saw my son defending me, and saying <<that’s not true>>.
“That’s when I knew I had to tell him. And he’d never asked me. He’d never said <<dad, is this true?>> He’d trusted me.
“I said ‘don’t defend me anymore, don’t’. He has been remarkably calm and mature about it.”
Lance Armstrong said his mother had been left a “wreck” by what had happened but “she is a tough lady and has got through every other moment”.
Despite the fallout from his drugs use, Lance Armstrong said it was not the worst period of his life and pointed to his cancer battle.
“I’ve been to a dark place that was not of my doing where I didn’t know if I would live,” he said.
“You can’t compare this to an advanced diagnosis. That sets the bar. It is close but I’m an optimist and I like to look forward – this has caused me to look back and I don’t like that.
“When I was diagnosed I was better and smarter after that and then lost my way.
“It is easy to sit here and say I feel better but I can’t lose my way again.
“Only I can control it and I’m in no position to make promises but that is the biggest challenge for the rest of my life – not to slip up again and not lose sight of what I have to do. I had it but things got too crazy. Epic challenge.”
In the first part of the interview Lance Armstrong told Oprah Winfrey he was sorry for his “big lie”. He admitted that at the time he viewed his actions as levelling the playing field rather than cheating.
He said he would now co-operate with official inquiries into doping.
In the aftermath of the USADA report the Texan opted not to contest the allegations. Lance Armstrong had always strongly denied doping, but that all changed within seconds of his first appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s show.
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Cyclist Lance Armstrong has ended years of denials by admitting to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs during all seven of his Tour de France wins.
The 41-year-old confessed: “I view this situation as one big lie I repeated a lot of times.”
“I made those decisions, they were my mistake and I’m here to say sorry.”
However, Lance armstrong denied it was “sport’s biggest doping programme”, saying “it was smart, but it was conservative, risk averse”.
The interview with Oprah Winfrey was broadcast on prime time television on her OWN network in the US, and was streamed worldwide through her website.
The tens of millions viewers saw Lance Armstrong reveal:
- he took performance-enhancing drugs in each of his Tour wins from 1999-2005
- doping was “part of the process required to win the Tour”
- he did not feel he was cheating at the time and viewed it as a “level playing field”
- he did not fear getting caught
- “all the fault and blame” should lie with him
- he was a bully who “turned on” people he did not like
- his cancer fight in the mid-1990s gave him a “win-at-all costs” attitude
- he would now co-operate with official inquiries into doping in cycling
In response the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) called for Armstrong to detail “under oath” the full extent of his doping.
Cycling’s governing body the UCI welcomed Armstrong’s decision “to come clean and confess”, and said the interview had confirmed it was not part of a “collusion or conspiracy”.
Last year Lance Armstrong was stripped of his Tour de France titles after being labelled a “serial cheat” by Usada.
In a detailed report, the body said he led “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme sport has ever seen”.
Lance Armstrong decided not to contest the charges, saying last year he was tired of fighting the allegations. He had always strongly denied doping.
That all changed within seconds of an explosive opening to the interview when Oprah Winfrey demanded yes or no answers.
“Did you ever take banned substances to enhance cycling performance?”
“Yes.”
“Was one of those substances EPO?”
“Yes.”
“Did you use any other banned substances?”
“Yes.”
Lance Armstrong then admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs Erythropoietin (EPO), testosterone, cortisone and human growth hormone as well as having blood transfusions.
He continued: “All the fault and blame is on me and a lot of that is momentum and I lost myself in all that. I couldn’t handle it. The story is so bad and toxic and a lot of it is true.”
Asked if doping was part of the process required to win the Tour, Lance Armstrong said: “That’s like saying we have to have air in our tyres or water in our bottles. It was part of the job.
“I don’t want to make any excuses, but that was my view and I made those decisions.”
In a key exchange Oprah Winfrey asked: “Did it feel wrong?”
Lance Armstrong replied: “No. Scary.”
“Did you feel bad?”
“No. Even scarier.”
“Did you feel that you were cheating?”
“No. The scariest.”
Lance Armstrong has ended years of denials by admitting to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs during all seven of his Tour de France wins
Lance Armstrong continued: “The definition of a cheat is to gain an advantage on a rival or foe. I didn’t view it that way. I viewed it as a level playing field. I didn’t understand the magnitude of that. The important thing is that I’m beginning to understand it.
“I see the anger in people, betrayal. It’s all there. People who believed in me and supported me and they have every right to feel betrayed and it’s my fault and I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologise to people.”
On whether it was the biggest doping programme in sport he said: “I didn’t have access to anything that anybody else didn’t.
“Winning races mattered for me but to say that programme was bigger than the East German doping programme of 70s and 80s is wrong.”
Lance Armstrong said his battle with cancer in the mid-1990s turned him into a “fighter”.
“Before my diagnosis I was a competitor but not a fierce competitor,” he said.
“I took that ruthless win-at-all-costs attitude into cycling which was bad.”
Lance Armstrong denied riders had to comply to a doping programme to compete for his US Postal Service/Discovery Channel team, but admitted his personality could imply that.
He said: “Yes, I was a bully. I was a bully in the sense that I tried to control the narrative and if I didn’t like what someone said I turned on them.
“We felt like we had our backs against the wall and I was a fighter.”
Lance Armstrong said he had not been afraid of getting caught.
“Testing has evolved. Back then they didn’t come to your house and there was no testing out of competition and for most of my career there wasn’t that much out-of-competition testing so you’re not going to get caught because you clean up for the races.
“I didn’t fail a test. Retrospectively, I failed one. The hundreds of tests I took I passed them.”
However, he did admit that he received a back-dated therapeutic user exemption certificate for a cream containing steroids at the 1999 Tour to ensure he did not test positive.
Lance Armstrong retired from cycling in 2005 but returned to the sport between 2009 and 2012.
He told Oprah Winfrey that he did not use drugs after his return to the sport.
“That’s the only thing in that whole USADA report that really upset me,” he said.
Lance Armstrong said he regretted his return, and was asked if he would have “got away with it” if he had not come back.
“Impossible to say,” he replied, but added his “chances would have been better”.
However, he conceded that when he discovered George Hincapie, who was the only man to ride in the same team as Lance Armstrong for each of his seven Tour wins, had given evidence against him last year, he knew his “fate was sealed”.
“George is the most credible voice in all of this,” Lance Armstrong added.
“He did all seven Tours. We’re still great friends. I don’t fault George Hincapie, but George knows this story better than anybody.”
Lance Armstrong said he would now co-operate with USADA.
“I love cycling and I say that knowing that people see me as someone who disrespected the sport, the colour yellow,” he said.
“If there was a truth and reconciliation commission – and I can’t call for that – and I’m invited I’ll be first man through the door.”
He went on to say that he wished he had complied with the USADA investigation.
“I’d do anything to go back to that day,” he said.
“I wouldn’t fight, I wouldn’t sue them, I’d listen. I’d do a couple of things first.
“I’d say give me three days. Let me call my family, my mother, sponsors, [the Lance Armstrong Livestrong] foundation and I wish I could do that but I can’t.”
Asked if his former doctor Michele Ferrari, who was banned for life by USADA after being found guilty of numerous anti-doping violations, was the “mastermind”, Lance Armstrong said: “No. I’m not comfortable talking about other people.
“I viewed Dr. Michele Ferrari as a good man and I still do.”
He said he regretted “going on the attack” against masseuse Emma O’Reilly, who was an early whistleblower.
“She is one of these people that I have to apologise to,” he said.
“She’s one of these people who got run over, got bullied.”
He denied making a $100,000 donation in 2005 to the UCI, to cover up a failed drugs test.
“It was not in exchange for help,” he said.
“They called. They didn’t have a lot of money. I did. They asked if I would make a donation so I did.
“That story [of a cover up] isn’t true. There was no positive test. There was no paying off of the lab. There was no secret meeting with the lab director. I’m no fan of the UCI. That did not happen.”
However, Lance Armstrong refused to answer questions regarding allegations made by former team-mate Frankie Andreu, who admitted in 2006 to taking EPO before the 1999 Tour – Armstrong’s first victory – and his wife Betsy,
The duo testified in 2006 that they heard Lance Armstrong tell a cancer doctor that he had doped with EPO in 1996. Armstrong swore, under oath, that it did not happen.
Lance Armstrong told Oprah Winfrey that he had a 40-minute telephone conversation with the Andreus but he was not prepared to reveal what was said.
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Oprah Winfrey has revealed Lance Armstrong “did not come clean in the way I expected” about claims he used performance-enhancing drugs.
The chat host did not go into details of their lengthy interview but said she had been “satisfied” with Lance Armstrong’s answers.
The questions “people around the world have been waiting to hear were answered”, Oprah winfrey told CBS news.
Lance Armstrong, 41, who has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has thus far vehemently denied dope allegations.
But rumors have been circulating for some time that Lance Armstrong wants to come clean in order to return to professional sport.
Lance Armstrong was accused last year by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) of what it called “the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping programme” the sport had ever seen.
He is now said to be discussing whether to testify against sport officials.
Oprah Winfrey told CBS that the two-and-a-half hour interview in Lance Armstrong’s home town of Austin, Texas, would be broadcast over two nights, starting on Thursday.
She said she had taken 112 questions into her interview with him, most of which she got to ask.
Lance Armstrong was “serious and thoughtful”, had prepared well for the interview, and “met the moment”, she said.
“At the end of it… we both were pretty exhausted. And I would say I was satisfied,” she said.
“I would say he did not come clean in the manner that I expected,” she said in response to a question.
“It was surprising to me. I would say that for myself, my team, all of us in the room, we were mesmerized and riveted by some of his answers.”
“I didn’t get all the questions asked, but I think the most important questions and the answers that people around the world have been waiting to hear were answered,” Oprah Winfrey said.
She would leave it to others to decide whether he was contrite, she went on to say.
Oprah Winfrey has revealed Lance Armstrong did not come clean in the way she expected” about claims he used performance-enhancing drugs
Oprah Winfrey told CBS that she had agreed with Lance Armstrong and his team that they would not talk about what had been said until the broadcast, but rumors of a confession quickly began circulating in the US media.
“By the time I left Austin and landed in Chicago, you all had already confirmed it. So I’m like – how did you all do that? We all agreed that we weren’t going to say anything,” she said.
“I’m sitting here now because it’s already been confirmed.”
When asked why Lance Armstrong had agreed to the interview, Oprah Winfrey said: “I think he was just ready.”
The interview was recorded just hours after Lance Armstrong apologized to staff at the Livestrong Foundation but stopped short of a full admission of guilt.
Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, lost most of his sponsorships and was forced to leave Livestrong after the damning USADA report.
Admitting doping might be a first step into trying to mitigate his lifetime ban from competition. Lance Armstrong is also said to be planning to testify against powerful individuals in the world of cycling – though not other cyclists – he will claim knew about or facilitated the doping, sources said.
But an admission of guilt would raise legal issues as well as further backlash from the cycling world and cancer community, in which Lance Armstrong is a prominent figure as a cancer survivor.
The New York Times has reported Lance Armstrong’s supporters are concerned he could face perjury charges if he confesses to using performance-enhancing drugs, because he testified in a 2005 court case that he had never done so.
Former teammate Floyd Landis – who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping – has filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit accusing Armstrong of defrauding the US Postal Service, which sponsored the team to the tune of more than $30 million.
The US Department of Justice is considering whether to join the lawsuit against him, reports say, and Lance Armstrong’s lawyers are said to be in negotiations to settle the suit.
The UK’s Sunday Times is already suing Lance Armstrong for up to $1.6 million over a libel payment to him in 2004 after the newspaper alleged he had cheated.
And a Texan insurance company is pursuing Lance Armstrong for $11 million over insured performance bonuses paid to the American after he claimed his fourth, fifth and sixth Tour de France victories.
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After more than a decade of denying doping claims, cyclist Lance Armstrong has admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs to help him win seven Tour de France titles, sources revealed Monday evening.
A person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press that Lance Armstrong confessed to Oprah Winfrey during an interview taping with the Queen of Talk, which is slated to air on Thursday, January 17, on her network.
Lance Armstrong was stripped of all seven Tour titles last year in the wake of a voluminous U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) report that portrayed him as a ruthless competitor, willing to go to any lengths to win the prestigious race.
A group of about 10 close friends and advisers to Lance Armstrong left a downtown Austin hotel about three hours after they arrived Monday afternoon for the taping.
Among them were Lance Armstrong attorneys Tim Herman and Sean Breen, along with Bill Stapleton, Armstrong’s longtime agent, manager and business partner.
All declined comment entering and exiting the session.
Soon afterward, Oprah Winfrey tweeted: “Just wrapped with (at)lancearmstrong More than 2 1/2 hours. He came READY!”
Oprah was scheduled to appear on CBS This Morning on Tuesday to discuss the interview.
In a text to the AP on Saturday, Lance Armstrong said: “I told her [Oprah Winfrey] to go wherever she wants and I’ll answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That’s all I can say.”
Lance Armstrong stopped at the Livestrong Foundation, which he founded, on his way to the interview and said, ‘I’m sorry’ to staff members, some of whom broke down in tears.
A person with knowledge of that session said Lance Armstrong choked up and several employees cried during the session.
The person also said Lance Armstrong apologized for letting the staff down and putting Livestrong at risk but he did not make a direct confession to using banned drugs.
He said he would try to restore the foundation’s reputation, and urged the group to continue fighting for the charity’s mission of helping cancer patients and their families.
After more than a decade of denying doping claims, cyclist Lance Armstrong has admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs to help him win seven Tour de France titles
Rae Bazzarre, a spokeswoman for Livestrong said it was emotional “but we were all glad to see him”.
Lance Armstrong had not been at the headquarters since October 21, Rae Bazzarre said, about two weeks before he resigned from Livestrong’s board of directors.
USADA chief executive Travis Tygart labeled the doping regimen allegedly carried out by the U.S. Postal Service team that Armstrong once led, “The most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen”.
After a federal investigation of the cyclist was dropped without charges being brought last year, USADA stepped in with an investigation of its own.
The agency deposed 11 former teammates and accused Lance Armstrong of masterminding a complex and brazen drug program that included steroids, blood boosters and a range of other performance-enhancers.
The interview with Oprah Winfrey will be Lance Armstrong’s first public response to the USADA report.
Lance Armstrong is not expected to provide a detailed account about his involvement, nor address in depth many of the specific allegations in the more than 1,000-page USADA report.
After he was stripped of his Tour titles, Lance Armstrong defiantly tweeted a picture of himself on a couch at home with all seven of the yellow leader’s jerseys on display in frames behind him.
But the preponderance of evidence in the USADA report and pending legal challenges on several fronts apparently forced him to change tactics, and he still faces legal challenges.
He is planning to testify against several powerful people in the sport of cycling who knew about his doping and possibly facilitated it, said several people with knowledge of the situation, according to The New York Times.
Lance Armstrong is in discussions with the United States Department of Justice to possibly testify in a federal whistle-blower case.
Former teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping, has filed a federal whistle-blower lawsuit that accused Armstrong of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service.
Floyd Landis claimed the team defrauded the government because its riders used performance-enhancing drugs in violation of its sponsorship contract.
The Justice Department has yet to decide whether it will join the suit as a plaintiff.
The London-based Sunday Times also is suing Lance Armstrong to recover about $500,000 it paid him to settle a libel lawsuit.
On Sunday, the newspaper took out a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune, offering Oprah Winfrey suggestions for what questions to ask Lance Armstrong.
Dallas-based SCA Promotions, which tried to deny Lance Armstrong a promised bonus for a Tour de France win, has threatened to bring yet another lawsuit seeking to recover more than $7.5 million an arbitration panel awarded the cyclist in that dispute.
The lawsuit most likely to be influenced by a confession might be the Sunday Times case.
Potential perjury charges stemming from Lance Armstrong’s sworn testimony in the 2005 arbitration fight would not apply because of the statute of limitations. Lance Armstrong was not deposed during the federal investigation that was closed last year.
Many of his sponsors dropped Lance Armstrong after the damning USADA report – at the cost of tens of millions of dollars – and soon after, he left the board of the Livestrong cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997. Lance Armstrong is still said to be worth about $100 million.
Livestrong could be one reason Lance Armstrong has decided to come forward with an apology and limited confession.
The charity supports cancer patients and still faces an image problem because of its association with lance Armstrong.
He may be hoping that his willingness to testify against the cycling union officials and his former team’s officials and his confession will allow him to return to competition in the elite triathlon or running events he participated in after his cycling career.
World Anti-Doping Code rules state his lifetime ban cannot be reduced to less than eight years.
WADA and U.S. Anti-Doping officials could agree to reduce the ban further depending on what information Lance Armstrong provides and his level of cooperation
He had a meeting last month with USADA officials, and it was reported by The New York Times that people with knowledge of the discussions said the officials would be willing to reduce Lance Armstrong’s punishment if he would testify against the people who helped him dope.
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Lance Armstrong will be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, amid reports that he might publicly admit to doping.
Cyclist Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles by the sport’s governing body, following a report by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network said the 90-minute interview would address “years of accusations of cheating”.
Lance Armstrong has maintained his innocence as he received a life ban from USADA.
But the New York Times reported on Friday that the 41-year-old was considering a public admission that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs. An admission could lead to an apparent bid to return to competing in marathons and triathlons, the paper reported.
The interview announcement was first made on Oprah Winfrey’s Twitter account on Tuesday, and confirmed when Lance Armstrong retweeted it 15 minutes later.
The interview – his first since being stripped of his wins – will be broadcast on January 17 on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network and live-streamed online.
Lance Armstrong will be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, amid reports that he might publicly admit to doping
Lance Armstrong ended his fight against doping charges in August 2012. In October, USADA released a 1,000-page report saying he had been at the heart of “the most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme” ever seen in sport.
He was stripped of his titles by the International Cycling Union (UCI) shortly afterwards and given a lifetime ban from the sport.
Lance Armstrong also resigned as chairman of the Livestrong foundation – the cancer charity he created – after the cycling body’s decision.
His lawyer, Tim Herman, has described the USADA report as a “one-sided hatchet job” and the cyclist himself has accused the agency of offering “corrupt inducements” to other riders to speak out against him.
It is believed he is considering an admission because he wants to resume his athletic career, and has shown an interest in competing in triathlons.
Asked whether the 41-year-old was set to come clean, Tim Herman told the New York Times: “Lance has to speak for himself on that.”
Separately, the head of USADA told a US investigative programme that Lance Armstrong offered the agency a donation of some $250,000 in 2004, reports said.
Speaking to 60 Minutes Sport, to be broadcast in the US on Wednesday, Travis Tygart said the offer was a “clear conflict of interest” and quickly rejected.
David Letterman has opened up about his indiscretions with female employees and how they rocked television – and his marriage – in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In October 2009, David Letterman made a shocking on-air revelation on the Late Show that he had cheated on his wife, Regina Lasko, whom he had only married that March.
He made the confession after becoming the victim of an extortion plot concocted by a then-CBS producer, Robert Halderman, who demanded $2 million in exchange for his silence over the affairs.
“I have no one to blame but myself,” David Letterman told Oprah Winfrey in the interview which will air on Sunday on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
“And now, I feel better about myself, my relationship with my wife is never better, and it’s just because I want to be the person I always thought I was and probably was pretending I was. And so far, it’s been great. Things have been great.
“I hurt a lot of people. I have nobody to blame but myself. I’m not looking to blame anybody. I’m looking to find out why I behaved the way I behaved.”
It emerged that he had cheated on Regina Lasko, with whom he has a 9-year-old son, with female staff members, allegedly including Late Show assistant Stephanie Birkitt.
Robert Halderman, then a producer on CBS show 48 Hours, eventually served four months behind bars for the extortion plot.
David Letterman has opened up about his indiscretions with female employees and how they rocked television in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey
After David Letterman’s on-air confession, he publicly vowed to repair his marriage.
“Let me tell you folks, I got my work cut out for me,” he said during the following taping.
“Inadvertently, I just wasn’t thinking ahead. My thanks to the staff for, once again, putting up with something stupid I’ve gotten myself involved in.”
But he also made light of the affair, later adding: “It’s chilly outside my house; chilly INSIDE my house.”
In the interview with Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman also attempted to put rumors about his years-long feud with fellow talk show great Jay Leno to bed.
For decades, audiences have believed their spat began when David Letterman lost out on Johnny Carson’s old seat at the Tonight Show, yet in the interview he hinted at how his once close relationship with Jay Leno actually crumbled due to the comic’s insecurities.
“We were always friends before all of this happened,” David Letterman, 65, said in the Oprah’s New Chapter interview, which airs in full on the OWN on January 6.
“He has a way – he’s an unusual fellow. I’ve never met anyone quite like Jay.
“And I will say – and I’m happy to say – that I think he is the funniest guy I’ve ever known. Just flat out, if you go to see him do his night club act, just the funniest, the smartest, a wonderful observationist and very appealing as a comic.
“Therefore, the fact that he is maybe the most insecure person I have ever known… I could never reconcile that.”
The high-publicized feud has previously been blamed on David Letterman being passed over as the replacement for Johnny Carson in 1992, when Jay Leno was given the job instead.
The battle was so well known that it was made into a 1996 HBO film, The Late Shift.
And this year, the spat hotted up when Jay Leno ended his 17-year reign at the Tonight show to begin the Jay Leno Show for NBC – which failed to garner the ratings of his rival’s show.
David Letterman went from strength to strength, overtaking Conan O’Brien in the late-night ratings.
The rivals have managed to laugh at their mutual animosity, appearing in a commercial during the 2010 Super Bowl in which they were separated on a couch by Oprah Winfrey.
To see the interview in its entirety, tune in to “Oprah’s Next Chapter” on January 6 at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.
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Oprah Winfrey’s hotly anticipated List of Favorite Things was released just one week ago on her OWN Network, and already it is having major effects on products she endorsed.
After placing the Lafco Soap Set at the beginning of her 2012 list, and the Octane Fitness Q37ci Elliptical Trainer second, both products have seen sizable increases in sales according to reps for both companies.
Apparently, sales for the $238 Lafco Soap Set, or $17 per soap, have nearly quadrupled since Oprah Winfrey’s list aired on November 18.
A rep for Lafco told TMZ, which asked if sales had increased: “Holy hell, yes it has. It is our third time being chosen. We’re busy as hell.
“We usually invoice 80-100 a day, and yesterday we had 431 invoices.”
Oprah Winfrey described the “luxuriously oversize, deliciously scented soap” as her “new go-to gift”, on Oprah.com.
“I even brought a set to Mr. and Mrs. Colbert when I interviewed Stephen for Next Chapter,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, sales for Oprah Winfrey’s favorite Octane Fitness Elliptical Trainer, normally $3,099 which you can get for $2,789 with an Oprah coupon, has increased 300%, according to the company.
Sales for Lafco Soap Sets, priced at $238 or $17 per soap, have nearly quadrupled since Oprah’s Favorite Things List aired on November 18
She named the trainer, “a gym of one’s own”, that would “give the gift of health” this Christmas.
And the makers of Corkcicle, a wine-chilling cork which Oprah Winfrey placed 21st on her list of 60 items, said they have experienced a 350% sales increase.
Oprah said of the $25 gadget: “No need for an ice bucket when you pull the ‘corkcicle’ out of the freezer and insert it into any bottle of wine that needs to stay cool. Talk about chilling!”
And the founders of Tusk Capri Checkbook Clutch, $138, which Oprah Winfrey also endorsed 11th, say they have received ten times the normal order amount.
Since 1996, Oprah Winfrey has tasted and tested her way through hundreds of items to determine her favorite things to give every holiday – which has always proved successful for the brands she includes.
She left off Apple this year, instead touting Microsoft’s Surface tablet as one of her favorite things, saying the $499 item “feels like a Mercedes-Benz”.
After Oprah chose the We Take The Cake’s Florida key lime Bundt cake as one of her Favorite Things in 2004, owner Lori Kamel told CNN: “Oprah saved our business.
“Our sales for 2004 were around $450,000 and at the end of 2005 our sales were $840,000.”
Oprah’s Favorite Things 2012 – Oprah.com
If President Barack Obama will be out of a job in 48 hours, First Lady Michelle Obama could step into a new career as a chat show host.
TV executives believe Michelle Obama would be a natural to become a talk show host.
Michelle Obama has even been compared to Oprah Winfrey, the queen of chat show hosts and one of the most recognizable names in show business.
“Personally I would like to see her in the White House,” said Hilary Estey McLoughlin., president of syndication company behind the Ellen DeGeneres show.
“But if she were not going to be in the White House, I’d love to see her as the host of a show. She’s amazing.”
And former CNN president Jon Klein agreed that Michelle Obama would be snapped up by TV chiefs if her husband does not win a second term in office.
“Daytime syndicators are desperate for a new voice and she is tailor made for it,” he told TV Guide magazine.
“She’s thoughtful. She’s committed. She’s a working mom. She’d be a strong voice on issues important to her.”
If President Barack Obama will be out of a job in 48 hours, First Lady Michelle Obama could step into a new career as a chat show host
Since moving into the White House Michelle Obama has been one of the most visible of First Ladies with more TV appearances than any other.
Michelle Obama has regularly appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Even The View has been graced by Michelle Obama while her appearance on the Dr. Oz show helped her promote her campaign for healthy eating.
Michelle Obama became the first president’s wife to appear on a reality show when she took part in the Iron Chef series with ingredients from the White House garden being used in food preparation.
Hilary Estey McLoughlin, whose Telepictures Productions syndicates the Ellen DeGeneres show, even talks about Michelle Obama as someone to take over Oprah Winfrey’s crown as chat show queen.
“She reminds me of Oprah Winfrey as someone who has the ability to make people understand complex things in a simple way.”
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It is well-known that The Obamas have a well-documented relationship with Oprah Winfrey, but now Mitt and Ann Romney have opened up to the chat show host for the first time.
The Republican power couple welcomed the media mogul into their roomy New Hampshire holiday home on Lake Winnipesaukee, to talk about family, religion, food and, of course, politics.
Casually dressed in jeans, with the top button of his shirt undone, Mitt Romney even took it upon himself to pack Oprah Winfrey a doggie bag for the road, as they finished off in the kitchen.
“Ann makes these little meatloaf cakes with sweet sauce on top.
“Meatloaf cakes and mashed potatoes. Best thing in the world,” he exclaimed during the interview, which is included in the November issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.
Although Oprah Winfrey has seen President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle at the White House on several occasions, it was the first time she had met with Mitt and Ann Romney.
And it seems that she was taken with the “strong family vibe” created by the duo, adding that “cute little kids just seemed to keep coming out of every nook and corner” during her visit.
As well as Mitt Romney revealing his favorite dishes, he also addressed a number of meatier topics.
Asked at what point, did he know that he wanted to be president, he replied: “Not any time during my youth.”
Adding: “As a little boy I wanted to be a policeman. And then as I got older and I saw my dad in the car business, an automobile executive.”
But now aged 65, Mitt Romney remains determined to claim victory in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
He told Oprah Winfrey: “It do believe I’m going to win.
“I think in the debates we’ll be able to get down to, what do you believe in, how can we help the country? And I think when we do that, we’ll end up winning.”
Meanwhile Ann Romney, who is a mother-of-five and grandmother to 18, stayed focused on the subject of family and her 14-year battle with multiple sclerosis.
She also revealed that despite making regular small-screen appearances, she does not watch television anymore, because she “just can’t deal with it, if I’m going to have the calmness and peace that I need to have.”
Oprah Winfrey also interviewed Barack and Michelle Obama at the Green Room in the White House, for the same issue of her glossy publication.
Describing his vision for the world Barack Obama, who dressed in a suit and tie for the meeting, said: “Michelle accuses me of being a congenital optimist, but it’s true. I think people are capable of great evil but are fundamentally good.
“I want America to continue to be on the side of expanding justice and freedom and opportunity.”
Meanwhile Michelle Obama revealed that she often finds it difficult to discuss things with her husband, as he has so many other things on his mind.
Michelle Obama told Oprah Winfrey: ”I’m stockpiling a list of issues that I’d like to discuss with him in 2016.”
Oprah Winfrey has been crowned the highest female earner in Hollywood by Forbes magazine, having taken home an estimated $165 million last year.
Britney Spears is next, with earnings thought to be about $58 milion.
Taylor Swift completes the top three, only just behind Britney Spears, making $57 million in the past 12 months.
According to Forbes, Oprah Winfrey is America’s only African-American billionaire and owns the television company, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
She is also a television presenter and recently interviewed Rihanna about her relationship with Chris Brown.
Britney Spears did not make the Forbes list last year, possibly down to a reduction in the amount of her touring.
This year the pop star has performed 75 dates as well as earning money from various endorsements and her perfume line.
She has also taken a role on the judging line-up of The X Factor USA.
Taylor Swift’s place is partly down to her tour, which grossed more than $1 million per night and ran for more than 65 dates.
Other names on the list include television host Ellen DeGeneres and singers Rihanna and Lady Gaga.
Forbes’ highest-paid women in 2012:
1 – Oprah Winfrey, $165 million
2 – Britney Spears, $58 million
3 – Taylor Swift, $57 million
4 – Ellen DeGeneres, $53 million
5 – Rihanna, $53 million
6 – Lady Gaga, $52 million
7 – Jennifer Lopez, $52 million
8 – Gisele Bundchen, $45 million
9 – Katy Perry, $45 million
10 – Judge Judy Sheindlin, $45 million
In a candid interview with Oprah Winfrey last night Rihanna admitted despite their relationship violent end she still loves ex-boyfriend Chris Brown.
Rihanna, 24, told Oprah Winfrey she and Chris Brown are still “very close friends”, adding: “We built a trust again and that’s it. We love each other and we probably always will.”
The television special for Oprah: The Next Chapter showed Oprah Winfrey describe the fall-out from the horrific night after a pre-Grammy party in 2009.
After re-counting the events, a tearful Rihanna, real name Robyn Fenty, opened up about where the pair’s relationship now stands.
“It was embarrassing it was humiliating… I lost my best friend,” she said.
Rihanna admits since the restraining order was dropped against Chris Brown in February 2011, the pair have been working on their friendship, having seen each other as recently as last month in St. Tropez.
In a candid interview with Oprah Winfrey last night Rihanna admitted despite their relationship violent end she still loves ex-boyfriend Chris Brown
“We’ve been working on our friendship again and now we’re very close friends,” she said.
“And that’s not anything we’re going to try to change.”
But she said it’s still difficult to see her ex, because her feelings are conflicting.
“It’s awkward because I still love him.
“My stomach drops and I have to maintain this poker face and not let it get to the outer part of me. I have to maintain it and suppress it,” she explained.
Then she added: “When you don’t understand those feelings you can make a lot of mistakes.”
Rihanna said they are not pursuing anything romantic, noting Chris Brown is in a longterm relationship (with model Karrueche Tran), while she is single.
Still, the memories of their relationship, she predicted, will linger.
“I think he is the love of my life. He was my first love.”
But she remembers, in part, where it went wrong: “We were very young and very spontaneous. We were falling in love and going at a really rapid pace. We forgot about ourselves as individuals.”
Rihanna’s words have caused uproar with domestic violence support charities blasting the singer for “normalizing” abuse.
Charities claim Rihanna is sending out a dangerous message, which could stop abused women from coming forward.
Vivienne Hayes, chief executive of the Women’s Resource Centre, told The Independent: “Rihanna’s case demonstrates the emotional complexities felt by women locked in abusive relationships.”
After falling into what she described as a “dark place”, reflected in her music, her fashion choices and her attitude, the singer said she was finally able to make peace with the violent end to their romance by rebuilding her relationship with her father, Ronald Fenty.
“I was so angry at him. I was just angry about a lot of things from my childhood. And I couldn’t separate him as a husband from him as my father,” she said, acknowledging he was violent toward her mother, Monica Braithwaite.
Rihanna’s parents split nearly two years before she left Barbados for the states at 16. The singer admitted her father’s “addiction” tore her family apart; although she did not elaborate on his substance abuse.
Now, after bridging the gap, she says she has moved on from the scandal with Chris Brown that has cast a shadow over her career for the last three years.
“I have to move on,” she said.
“I have forgiven him. It took me a long time. I was angry for a long time.”
But that reconciliation comes with the desire to know her ex has also healed since the fracas.
“I truly love him, so the main thing for me is that he’s at peace… I care. It actually matters [to me] that he finds that peace,” she said.
Prepared for a backlash, she continued: “I can’t tell people how to feel about it. They’re entitled to feel angry because it wasn’t a good thing that happened. But I have forgiven him.”
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