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Oprah Addresses Lesbian Rumors, Cries To Barbara Walters (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post   Danny Shea First Posted: 12/08/10 11:13 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 07:15 PM ET

Oprah Cries

Oprah Winfrey opened up to Barbara Walters in a revealing, more personal interview than viewers often see from the daytime talk show queen.

In an clip from Thursday's hour-long ABC special, shown Wednesday morning on "Good Morning America," Oprah is seen crying as she discusses her close friendship with Gayle King.

"She is the mother I never had. She is the sister everybody would want. She is the friend that everybody deserves," a tearful Oprah said of Gayle. "I don't know a better person."

Oprah, who told herself she wouldn't let Walters make her cry, said that the reason those words brought her to tears is that she's never said them to Gayle herself.

"It's making me cry because I'm thinking about how much I probably have never told her that," she said.

Oprah also addressed the persistent rumors that she and Gayle are lesbians.

"I'm not a lesbian. I'm not even kind of a lesbian," she said. "And the reason why it irritates me is because it means that somebody must think I'm lying. That's number one. Number two: why would you want to hide it? That is not the way I run my life."

WATCH:

Oprah and Gayle joked about the lesbian rumors on their recent camping trip.

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Oprah Winfrey opened up to Barbara Walters in a revealing, more personal interview than viewers often see from the daytime talk show queen. In an clip from Thursday's hour-long ABC special, shown W...
Oprah Winfrey opened up to Barbara Walters in a revealing, more personal interview than viewers often see from the daytime talk show queen. In an clip from Thursday's hour-long ABC special, shown W...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
cloudmaker
09:21 AM on 12/13/2010
Why the hell does anyone care about anybody else's sex life? Especially when it isn't even for voyeuristic gratification, but out of sheer nosiness. When you start showing more interest in a stranger or celebrity's sex life than your own, you've got a problem.
fredgladys
Your Micro-bio is empty, I know, stop nagging.
03:25 AM on 12/14/2010
Agreed, but is it another case of the media caring but not the fans.
08:18 AM on 12/15/2010
Agree! It seems to be very important with some people, as if they are sleeping with that person!
01:13 PM on 12/12/2010
Whether she's lesbian or not, she knows that such rumors damage the Oprah brand.
10:25 AM on 12/11/2010
My mother had a best girlfriend for 75 years. When they were no longer independently mobile, they talked every night until one of them died. To have someone know you so well and love you so long brought me to tears and lesbianism had nothing to do with it.
I’m very happy for Oprah and Gail. If they were lesbians, I’m certain they’d be a proud, lovely, Stedman-less couple. I just hope that Oprah and Gail keep on laughing. People needing to label others are to be pitied, if anything.
10:53 AM on 12/11/2010
wonderful story
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Olivia Green
Lovin' Life!
01:16 AM on 12/12/2010
I have a girlfriend like that. We have been best friends now for 30 years, since the very first day of Kindergarten. It also has nothing to do with being a lesbian. Some of us are lucky enough to have more than 1 soul mate. I have my husband and also my BFF.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
enlightened45
09:34 AM on 12/11/2010
Who cares if she is a lesbian or not...but the public should understand that this emotional display is a major portion of her shtick that has made her a very famous and wealthy woman. Check the demographics of her viewers and you will see just an updated version of those who read "True Story" and "True Romance" magazines in the 50's....
10:24 AM on 12/11/2010
Right on!...F&F!
11:01 AM on 12/11/2010
Amen. Very well said.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
dreffein
09:16 AM on 12/11/2010
It was a beautiful interview. She has made a profound difference in the lives of many - especially the children in South Africa. Would love to have her as my BFF!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
MIVOTE
Adds wisdom to knowledge
08:59 AM on 12/11/2010
It is very amazing that people think you are a lesbian if a woman chooses not to marry and have children...is that all that defines us as women? Or our we more than that? Are we unfulfilled without children or a husband to nag us into nausea? (eat, clean, where are my socks?)

While not a fan of her show I admire Oprah as an independent woman...and am sure she would not be living in the shadows if she were gay!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
dreffein
09:17 AM on 12/11/2010
Right all the way around. F&F.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Trueheart
Member, Endangered Species
10:20 AM on 12/11/2010
You've got MIVOTE.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Carolab
Walking an 87-year-old in the sand isn't easy
05:13 AM on 12/11/2010
Does this matter?
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
BARRISTER
04:59 AM on 12/11/2010
Dear Oprah:

Please do not be upset by what idle people say about you,. I, like many persons, love you and think you are a wonderiful person,and a beautiful woman. Continue to be yourself and ignore ignorance.

Remember that envy is a dangerous poison.


With All my Love.

Barrister
04:28 AM on 12/11/2010
Only purient interest makes people "have to know" everything @ a celebrity's life. She is entitled to privacy and it's nobody's business!
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03:59 AM on 12/11/2010
God forbid they have no tissues.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
afrodesia
03:36 AM on 12/11/2010
I read the most vicious article on some web site called Dime something..Just evil and persistent viciousness like they are really in the know and calls this woman a liar over and over in print.
Sigh..Haters and non-appreciators that never get it right but feel they have the right to slander the famous.

Stand your ground Oprah, and when Barbra asked you that question you should have answered it in your now famous acting debut in The Color Purple's character's voice of Sophia and I quote
"Hellll Naw"!
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BlacknProud310
Standing in my own brand of dignity.
09:51 AM on 12/11/2010
You funny. Right before she pops Ms. Millie's husband. I'm so on the floor with that flashback.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
afrodesia
08:25 PM on 12/11/2010
LOL..I know..Sophia was not the one for taking any back chat or BS from anyone.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
afrodesia
08:29 PM on 12/11/2010
PS, F&F for knowing exactly what scene I was describing. Thanks!
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
GoldDustDreams
02:47 AM on 12/11/2010
"Not like there's anything wrong with that..."
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01:33 AM on 12/11/2010
The title is so misleading! It implies that Oprah cries because of the accusations that she is gay. In fact, she cried about how much she cares for Gayle and not about the rumor. Regardless, Oprah is a true role model and she should be very proud of herself for all she has given back.
01:15 AM on 12/11/2010
Geez people. Get a life. Who cares about anyones else's sex life really?
Live and let live. Mind your own business.
I really don't care to know the sex life of other's esp. that of celebrity types.
12:16 AM on 12/11/2010
It seems odd that for some reason those tears were very close to the surface.  So it really took just the mention of Gayle to see the tears come so quickly.  I am just saying she was already emotional before the interview.
04:54 AM on 12/11/2010
She always is.  This is not new emotive reaction from Oprah.
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Gavin Saunders
we only have each other
06:57 PM on 12/12/2010
She probably realised she may have a true friendship and not a bought one.