Oprah Winfrey Opens School in South Africa
Oprah Winfrey offically opened her $40 million girls' school in South Africa opened on Tuesday, as 152 handpicked students walked in the door.
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Henly-on-Klip fulfills a promise she made six years ago to former President Nelson Mandela to give students a better future.
"I wanted to give this opportunity to girls who had a light so bright that not even poverty could dim that light," Winfrey said at a press conference.
All of a sudden, Shakira has a long way to go to be the most charitable celebrity.
Mandela was among the guests at the opening, as were Tina Turner, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey, actors Sidney Poitier and Chris Tucker and director Spike Lee, according to the AP.
By providing education to the girls in the lavish setting, Winfrey said she hoped she could help "change the face of a nation" that had once been divided by apartheid.
"Girls who are educated are less likely to get HIV/AIDS, and in this country in which it has such a pandemic, we have to begin to change the pandemic," she said.
In other important developments, Kristen Cavallari won't curse anymore.
October 29th, 2007 5:20 PM
Is Oprah's Empire Crumbling?
Oprah's nightmare of bad publicity and exposé books continues with rumors of her continuing health problems, allegations of violence and sexual abuse at her "dream school" for disadvantaged girls, and now a new tell-all book threatens to expose her less than charitable side as well as major problems within her media empire.
Ruthless, authored by accused extortionist Keifer Bonvillain, details behind-the-scenes workplace shockers gleaned from taped conversations with a Harpo Films employee and transcripts of conversations with Oprah's head legal council, Bill Becker, who allegedly was speaking on his employer's behalf.
"I tried to do the right thing by allowing Oprah to comment on the information I'd been told before it became public knowledge," Bonvillain says. "Rather than a thank-you for the opportunity to respond, what I got was setup by her lawyer and arrested by the FBI."
Bonvillain has also reportedly contacted the ACLU and has asked that the taped conversations with Oprah's lawyer be reviewed because of the FBI's involvement. "If the ACLU decides the case has merit, Oprah and her legal representative will find themselves in a world of trouble," Bonvillain claims.
Bonvillain's book is scheduled for release in early November.
July 19th, 2008 6:28 PM
hi, im sipho maribo my cousin happy mthethwa want to attend at oprah so please send me some copes so that i can reister her. thank you