Oprah Dismisses Kitty Kelley Book: 'So-Called Biography'

Oprah dismissed Kitty Kelley's controversial book about her at a luncheon Monday afternoon in New York.

Speaking at the New York Women in Communications' annual Matrix Awards lunch -- where she was presenting an award to Gayle King -- Oprah made her first public comments on the book.

Oprah said that she and Gayle are so close that Gayle often gets more upset about negative things written about her that she does.

"Last week was a rough week for Gayle when a so-called biography came out," she said. "Every day she's getting herself more and more worked up about all of my new daddies that are now showing up. New daddies who are saying, 'Hello daughter, call me, I need a new roof.' Well, this too shall pass."

In Kelley's controversial book, she claims to know the identity of Oprah's father.

Oprah added that while Gayle is often called her "BFF," she thinks of her as an "MSF" -- "she is for me a mother, a sister, and a friend," Oprah said.

Oprah and Gayle -- who were both dressed in orange despite not planning to match -- both told the same story about when Oprah asked Gayle to edit O magazine. As the story goes, they were racking their brains to think of who knew Oprah well-enough to launch the magazine bearing her name, when Oprah realized that it should be Gayle. Gayle, a self-professed TV junkie who was a news anchor in Connecticut at the time, balked at first before accepting.

When they butt heads over the magazine, Oprah said, she will remind her whose name appears on the cover.

"Excuse me, but I don't see a 'G' on the cover," she joked. "But there could never be the O without the G," she added.

Comments

[gtalkspolitics]

09:42 PM on 05/24/2010

Good Oprah finally derailed Kitty Kelly, Kelly barked-up the wrong tree........

[booker52]

04:03 PM on 04/21/2010

I remember when Kitty wrote the bio of Frank Sinatra, there was alot of negative press from Frank about the so called lies in that book. Makes me wonder about the line Oprah as taken about this book about her. I see this as a must read myself.

[toocoldout]

09:07 PM on 04/21/2010

There's very little in the book that hasn't already been reported in the National Enquirer.

[LeeCalif]

11:38 PM on 04/21/2010

Who were you hired by ?

[mdavis70360]

08:55 AM on 04/21/2010

Keifer Bonvillain exposed the truth about Oprah Winfrey's lesbian relationship two years ago in a book he wrote about (Ruthless) her based on conversations he had with Oprah's office manager. www.ruthlessbiz.com Oprah and her attorney fought hard to stop the book from being released. Despite Oprah's failed efforts, the book was released and now the author told a reporter he plans to release the audio tapes of his conversations with Oprah's employee. This was the first time one of Oprah's employees talked about her personal life. They signed confidentaility agreements. This guy broke his and dished a lot of dirt on Oprah. It was one of the best books I'd ever read. The author posed the transcrips of his conversations with Oprah's employees.

[logic63]

10:18 AM on 04/21/2010

These are people who make money by making others peoples business public. How would you who buy this trash like everything about you including conversations you've had, made public. On top of that, its stuff people made up so they could be includede as a source. What i.d.i.o.t.s.

[toocoldout]

11:44 AM on 04/21/2010

Are you Keifer Bonvillain? Every single comment you've posted provides a link to his book.

[Martha12]

05:35 AM on 04/21/2010

Hoprah can always have $arah "write" an autobiography for her.............

since Palin now touts herself as a "regular" on her program......

when it's not $arah it's the other train-wreck, or home-wrecker Rielle Hunter .

It must have been such a joy for Edwards adult daughter, not to mention his dying wife,

to have Hoprah legitimize Rielle on her show.

And with $arah as one of the leaders of the pack, stirring up "white heat", as Bill Clinton calls it,

Hoprah has made herself a part of that now.

Every time she has these people on her program, she legitimizes them and she knows it.

She said herself that her biggest mistake was giving the white supremacist a voice on her program.

Now she doesn't care what they represent as long as her failing ratings get a bump.

Hi HO, hi HO, it's after ratings we will go........

She has lost her moral ground and the chickens DO come home to roost.

[t iessa]

08:40 AM on 04/21/2010

Oprah had "moral ground?" When?

[ItHasToBeSaid]

10:53 AM on 04/21/2010

Someone like you wouldn't recognize morals if they bit you on yer behind.

[toocoldout]

08:47 AM on 04/21/2010

Oprah was the only media who refused to have Palin on her show when it mattered (during the election) so she's the last person you should be criticising. Oprah was attacked by the media for refusing to have Palin on and got volumes of hate mail but stuck by her guns and refused to have her until after the election. When the election was over Oprah had Palin on twice; that hardly makes her a regular. And the stirring up of "white heat" you're describing actually started in the Democratic primary.

[Martha12]

02:32 PM on 04/21/2010

Palin is touting HERSELF as a regular on the Winfrey show....so thank you for making my point.

The problem is that when she is on the program Hoprah lets her rattle on, without a single

question as to the facts of what she is claiming.

$arah's "book" had been fact checked extensively before her appearance, and found to

be nothing more than a compilation of deceit and misinformation.... but good old

Hoprah let her prattle on as is every word she said was the gospel truth.

ALL HOprah did was give Palin a platform to promote her deceptions AND helped her

sell her "book" that was more full of lies than the other authors Winfrey previously tore

apart for the same thing.

Winfrey assisted Palin in "conning" everyone.........she has done a complete about face since this:

Winfrey, whose endorsement of "A Million Little Pieces" turned it into one of the top-selling books of 2005, retracted her support of the author, saying she felt "conned" by him. "It's embarrassing and disappointing for me," she said.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/books/01/27/oprah.frey/index.html

[doneit]

03:01 AM on 04/21/2010

Kitty Kelley's book is controversial and I think she is just trying to make a buck. Sweet and delicate Oprah did not conduct herself in the manner that she is describing her in that book. http://www.digitalundivide.com

[John Hoyes]

10:17 PM on 04/20/2010

Oprah's general relationship with "Gayle" is very scary and creepy. People, particularly middle-aged women (her general audience), are afraid to speak out about this. I would be afraid too. Oprah has the power to crush her adversaries.

[toocoldout]

11:44 PM on 04/20/2010

You're just jealous because you've never had a real friend in your life.

[SteveSFM]

12:11 AM on 04/21/2010

Why should someone presume to "speak out" about the friendship of two women she doesn't even know?

[Randy Eckardt]

02:44 PM on 04/20/2010

Who could possibly take anyone with the name, Kitty, seriously? Think about it. You're an adult and you go by the name Kitty? Frightening ! And the last name has to somehow match the first name. Talk about lack of creativity.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

02:34 PM on 04/20/2010

One day, Kitty Kelley will find a life of her own.

[NevaforLeadership]

02:41 PM on 04/20/2010

She has already done that. Unfortunately, I don't believe she will ever see herself in the mirror.

[latia65]

08:56 PM on 04/20/2010

Ms Kitty from Gunsmoke she's not...

WGAFF anyway?

[1088]

02:28 PM on 04/20/2010

Oprah spend her life helping people with her wealth, Kitty spend her life finding dirt on people. Guess which one I would choose?

[Theatrixnyc]

03:27 PM on 04/20/2010

The one with free stuff under your seat?

[latia65]

08:58 PM on 04/20/2010

a car for you, a car for you (what! I have to pay the taxes?)

[starrianna]

03:43 PM on 04/21/2010

helping to learn English.

[Shellly]

02:08 PM on 04/20/2010

Kitty litter!

[NevaforLeadership]

02:26 PM on 04/20/2010

Very apropos comment, Shelly.

[Healthwatch2010]

02:01 PM on 04/20/2010

For years I couldn't understand WHY Oprah and Gayle were so close -- until I remembered this old Proverb:

Proverbs 18:24 (King James Version)

24A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

[latia65]

08:57 PM on 04/20/2010

so what are you saying?

[robjh1]

01:41 PM on 04/20/2010

Oh Kitty kitty.

[latia65]

08:59 PM on 04/20/2010

there are tomcats

[starrianna]

03:46 PM on 04/21/2010

and then there is TomKat, which stands for Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes, also a reference to the TomKat gay porn/cruising theatre in L.A., where closeted gay men like Tom get off with other men.

in the book, there's a lot of references to Oprah's special friendship with Cruise, who like her boyfriend Stedman threatened to sue people for $300+ million for accusing him of being gay and then never getting a chance to sue because behind closed doors it was determined that they probably wouldn't win because there was potentially some embarassing information out there.

[aceinthehole1970]

01:10 PM on 04/20/2010

While not a fan of Oprah I see no problem with her wanting to keep her Private Life private. However, since she promotes herself as a Public Figure then her Private Life is therefore no longer private. That is the cost of living a life of a Public Figure or Celebrity. "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it!"

[thehawke]

01:24 PM on 04/20/2010

Color me odd but I think public figured DO still retain a right to a private life.

[aceinthehole1970]

01:33 PM on 04/20/2010

Yes, you are odd. Public people by definition do not get to retain a Private Life. If they want the Public to listen to them then they better be prepared for the Public to ask for more information about them. Just goes with the territory.

[starrianna]

03:48 PM on 04/21/2010

NO ONE gets a private life anymore, honey. This is the post-Bush era. Your phone conversations are monitored by Verizon, AT&T, and the Government. Your cell phone is probably recording your every move and you are trackable by GPS and credit card records.

[NevaforLeadership]

02:24 PM on 04/20/2010

A public figure is someone who is paid with the taxes of taxpayers. Oprah is not a public figure. To a degree, public figures in public office, particularly high office, have to be prepared for a more scrutinized life. Their employers, the taxpayers, have a right to expect moral decency and leadership; however, even they have right to certain privacy.

Oprah, on the other hand is a private figure in private business. The only part of her private life that is anyone else's business is any part that she chooses to make public.

The world is so much better a place with Oprah: her incredible worldwide giving; her opportunities for others who in turn do enormous good (Dr. Oz), her lifting of spirits throughout the world (her show, magazine, soon to be network, NOW), her life lessons through others, her lifting of racial divisions, her amazing success from humble beginnings, her quest for living our best lives --- on and on.

Let's be kind and say that those who deride her haven't done the research and know not what they are doing. They certainly have no business commenting on her private life.

[Jen Lepp]

03:24 PM on 04/20/2010

A public figure is defined as "a well-known or notable person". A public servant is defined as "someone who holds a government position (either by election or appointment)".

You may want to do some research of your own before deriding other people for not doing research.

Just sayin'.

[ListenAndLearn]

03:43 PM on 04/20/2010

Sorry, but you're wrong. A "public figure" is "a legal term applied in the context of defamation actions (libel and slander) as well as invasion of privacy. A public figure (such as a politician, celebrity, or business leader) cannot base a lawsuit on incorrect harmful statements unless there is proof that the writer or publisher acted with malice (knowledge or reckless disregard for the truth). The burden of proof is higher in the case of a public figure." This is a good summary of the legal definition as provided by Wikipedia. As you can see, celebrities and business leaders are indeed public figures in the eyes of the law, in addition to politicians. When you "put yourself out there," you give up certain rights. Whether that is right or wrong is a contentious issue.

[pd33bkagn]

12:49 PM on 04/20/2010

I wish someone would do the research to discover how many times Oprah has had Kitty Kelly on her show dishing the dirt on other people. The Nancy Reagan book comes to mind. What goes around, comes around. Karma is a bee otch.

[toocoldout]

02:59 PM on 04/20/2010

Actually Kitty herself said that the only time she met Oprah was decades ago when Oprah was still a local co-host in Baltimore. Oprah avoided Kitty because she was angry at her for trashing the Kennedys in Kitty's book "Jackie Oh!".

[latia65]

09:01 PM on 04/20/2010

not

[pd33bkagn]

12:46 PM on 04/20/2010

When Oprah and Gayle have trouble with the magazine, they lick it together.

[txrunner]

01:26 PM on 04/20/2010

OH HOW FUNNY!

[latia65]

09:01 PM on 04/20/2010

nasty is right...why do closeted people always make fun of other poeple