Tag: Oprah Winfrey (11-20 of 159)

Jan 14 2013 05:25 PM ET

Lance Armstrong apologizes to Livestrong staff before Oprah interview

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Image Credit: Rogerio Barbosa/Getty Images

In advance of Lance Armstrong’s highly anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey, the cyclist offered an apology to the staff of Livestrong today, according to a report from the AP.  Amstrong resigned as Chairman of the organization in October and from the Board in November, after choosing not to challenge the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s proceedings against him.

Rae Bazzarre, Director of Communications and External Affairs for Livestrong, confirmed the report. Bazzarre said “Lance came to the Livestrong Foundation’s headquarters today for a private conversation with our staff and offered a sincere and heartfelt apology for the stress they’ve endured because of him and urged them to keep up their great work fighting for people affected by cancer.”

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Jan 7 2013 10:25 AM ET

Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman go deep in 'Next Chapter' interview -- VIDEO

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Image Credit: Harpo Studios

Oprah Winfrey and David Letterman are thisclose to exchanging BFF bracelets. In November, the late-night titan interviewed the queen of daytime at Ball State University, prompting Winfrey to open up about her rough childhood and adolescence (read: abuse, abuse, and more abuse).

Now Oprah has returned the favor, conducting an in-depth interview of Letterman for an episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter that aired last night. Winfrey didn’t shy away from asking tough questions about Letterman’s 2009 sex scandal, his struggles with depression, and even his relationship with Jay Leno — and Letterman didn’t shy away from answering them. (For the record, says Letterman, Leno is the “funniest guy I’ve ever known,” as well as the “most insecure.”)

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Jan 7 2013 09:14 AM ET

'Django Unchained' isn't the only film about American slavery, but it's close

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Image Credit: The Weinstein Company

Slavery remains American’s original sin, written into the original U.S. Constitution and responsible for the country’s ever-evolving, ever-complicated attitudes about race. So when a director like Quentin Tarantino decides to use slavery as the backdrop for his spaghetti Western revenge fantasia Django Unchained, it should not be exactly surprising that the film has come under a great deal of scrutiny.

What should be surprising — what should be at the center of any conversation about slavery and the movies — is how infrequently the words “slavery and the movies” are spoken in the same sentence.

Last month, Spike Lee declared he would not see Django Unchained, tweeting ”American Slavery Was Not A Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It Was A Holocaust” — a not so subtle implication that American slavery is too fraught to serve as a venue for Tarantino’s unique blend of genre-smashing, blood-splattering filmmaking. Training Day director Antoine Fuqua later admonished Lee for not airing his beef with Tarantino in private, declaring “I don’t think Quentin Tarantino has a racist bone in his body.” (When reached by EW, a rep for The Weinstein Company and Tarantino had no comment regarding either statement.) But Spike Lee is far from alone in expressing concerns about Tarantino’s tale of the titular freed slave (Jamie Foxx) who teams up with a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to rescue his wife (Kerry Washington) from a nefarious slaveholder (Leonardo DiCaprio). The public handwringing over the film has included its profligate use of the N-word (sparking a most fascinating exchange between Samuel L. Jackson and a white journalist over speaking the word aloud); its impact among African-American cultural tastemakers and audiences; and its appropriateness for teenage audiences (as penned by EW’s Abby West).

None of the controversies have exactly harmed the film’s box office; quite the opposite, it just zoomed past $100 million this weekend, en route to becoming Tarantino’s biggest hit to date. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 27 2012 01:13 PM ET

Oprah Winfrey talks about her childhood in serious chat with David Letterman -- VIDEO

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Feud? What feud? On Monday night, Oprah Winfrey joined David Letterman for a fairly serious conversation at the late night host’s alma mater, Ball State University — and from the resulting clips, it’s pretty impossible to tell that there was ever any bad blood between these two.

As Letterman explained in 2010, he and Oprah first butted heads long before his infamous “Oprah, Uma. Uma, Oprah” joke at the 1995 Academy Awards. Apparently, Letterman pulled a prank on Winfrey when he spotted her at a restaurant, pinning his bill on the media mogul — and sparking a mutual antipathy that lasted until 2005. Now, though, the two appear to be the best of friends. While interviewing Winfrey for his Ball State lecture series, Letterman had nothing but praise for his Hollywood peer: “I feel personally touched and lucky to spend this kind of time with this woman,” he said at one point, calling her experiences “stunning.” READ FULL STORY »

Nov 26 2012 04:11 PM ET

Awkward: Bieber talks Selena in 'Oprah's Next Chapter' interview taped pre-breakup -- VIDEO

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Oof. A lot of people have experienced the peculiar agony of, say, planning to attend a concert with their significant other, then getting stuck with two expensive tickets after breaking up with said S.O. But the unique awkwardness of effusively praising your partner in an interview — only to see that interview get released after you and the partner in question have split — is reserved for celebrities.

It happened to Katie Holmes, it happened to Kristen Stewart, and now it’s happening to Justin Bieber — whose big Oprah’s Next Chapter interview aired yesterday. In the interview, the Canadian idol calls fellow teenage dream Selena Gomez “one of the most genuine people,” citing her “good heart” as one of the reasons he loves her.

The only problem? Bieber and Gomez called it quits a few weeks ago, though reconciliation rumors have been swirling since the moment they split.

Awkward! For the record, Beliebers, Bieber also assures his fans that he would be with all of them — in a nonthreateningly romantic way — if he could. But as Oprah points out, he’s “just one Bieber!” Check out a snippet from the singer’s uncomfortable-in-hindsight interview below.

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Oct 2 2012 11:52 AM ET

Oprah's still the highest-paid woman in entertainment -- but maybe not for long

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Image Credit: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

The sun is hot, water is wet, and Oprah Winfrey earns more each year than any other woman in the entertainment industry — as well as any other celebrity, male or female. Thus it is, and thus it always will be. Right?

Not necessarily, according to Forbes. Though Oprah is still sitting pretty atop the magazine’s list of both the highest-paid celebs and the highest-paid women in entertainment, Forbes warns that Winfrey’s number one spot on the latter could soon be in jeopardy. During the time frame Forbes used to calculate that list, the OWN owner was still earning money from The Oprah Winfrey Show. Now her old series is kaput — and since she has yet to take a salary at OWN, Winfrey’s only sources of revenue now are O, The Oprah Magazine, her satellite radio station, and the TV series made by her production company, Harpo.

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Sep 11 2012 06:06 PM ET

UPDATE: Oprah Winfrey parties with Jane Fonda, Alan Rickman as Nancy and Ronald Reagan in 'The Butler' -- PHOTO

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What would happen if Oprah Winfrey partied with Nancy and Ronald Reagan? It would hopefully look like the image to the right, which Winfrey posted to Instagram from the set of director Lee Daniels’ The Butler. The film is based on the life of Eugene Allen (played by Forest Whitaker), a man who worked at the White House through eight presidencies, from Dwight Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan. Winfrey, who plays Whitaker’s wife, captioned this shot: “Director Lee Daniels, Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan, Alan Rickman as Prez Reagan, and me … gonna be a long nite.” Gotta love that both Fonda and Rickman remain in character.

Daniels has landed an all-star cast to play the famous residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington D.C. in his film. Along with Fonda and Rickman, there’s Robin Williams (President Dwight D. Eisenhower),  Melissa Leo (Mamie Eisenhower), James Marsden (President John F. Kennedy), Minka Kelly (Jackie Kennedy), Liev Schreiber (President Lyndon B. Johnson), and John Cusack (President Richard M. Nixon). The film also boasts several more heavy hitters in non-presidential roles, including Vanessa Redgrave, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Mariah Carey, and Lenny Kravitz.

In fact, check out another photo Winfrey posted to Instagram account of her and Kravitz from the set of The Butler below:  READ FULL STORY »

Aug 28 2012 05:33 PM ET

Kelsey Grammer denies crossdressing accusations to Oprah -- VIDEO

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Image Credit: Harpo Studios

Oprah’s Next Chapter is really going there these days, isn’t it?

Fresh off her sobfest with Rihanna about Chris Brown, next up on the new-and-improved Oprah Couch Confessional Tour is Kelsey Grammer, ostensibly agreeing to be interviewed by Oprah about his dicey personal life to promote the new season of his Starz show, Boss.

And if the clip below from the interview is any indication, Oprah went for it,  diving in and saying to Grammer, “Let’s talk about the parts you don’t want to talk about…your ex-wife!”

A fairly relaxed-looking Grammer explained that Camille “always wanted to be famous,” and that was the reason he agreed to the Real Housewives franchise. But don’t believe everything you see on TV (Sorry, Housewives fans). According to Grammer, the idea that he blindsided her with the divorce — as depicted on the show — just isn’t true. “It’s a reality show,” he said. “It’s a show.” READ FULL STORY »

Aug 28 2012 12:35 PM ET

Oprah tops Forbes list of highest-paid celebs, Michael Bay trails close behind

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Image credit: Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic

Oprah Winfrey is the highest paid celebrity in the world. Again. Despite a seismic $125 million earnings loss, the media mogul topped Forbes’ annual list of the 20 highest-earning celebs for the fourth year in a row. Winfrey ended her 25-year reign as talk-show queen last year and her network OWN has been struggling financially, but she still made an estimated $165 million.

Her Harpo productions shows, which include Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, and The Dr. Oz Show, her magazine, and satellite radio station helped her nab the top spot, but Forbes won’t count syndication money next year, potentially allowing runner-up director Michael Bay, who trailed behind by a mere $5 million, to garner the coveted spot. Bay’s last film, The Transformers: Dark of the Moon, grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide.

A sizable number of the celebs on the list are producers and directors, including Steven Spielberg, Jerry Bruckheimer, Dr. Dre, and Tyler Perry, who rounded out the top six. Dre made a surprise appearance on this year’s list, due to the incredible success of his line of headphones, Beats by Dr. Dre.

Tom Cruise (No. 13) was the only movie star in the ranking. Britney Spears solidified her comeback by tying for the last slot, while Ryan Seacrest, at No. 19, proved that he’s a fixture on every power list.

Here’s the full list: READ FULL STORY »

Aug 19 2012 10:19 PM ET

Rihanna tells Oprah: Chris Brown was 'the love of my life'

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Oprah Winfrey Network

It took 28 minutes for Oprah to bring up the “C” word (as in Chris Brown), and much of what Rihanna said during the 16 minutes that he was discussed was leaked last week. But it was still profound to watch the 24-year-old superstar revisit her emotions from the night in 2009 when Brown brutally assaulted her.”It was embarrassing, humiliating, hurtful,” she said. “I lost my best friend.” Some of her other comments left Oprah (and no doubt many viewers) with mixed emotions. “I was more concerned about him,” she said, adding that everybody thought he was a monster and he just needed help. Oprah replied with, “that is really powerful.” As for where they stand now, she said they are “very close friends” and then said a most unsettling sentence, “we have maintained a very close friendship ever since the restraining order was dropped.” There was some Freudian stuff about her dad discussed, mostly about how she was able to forgive Chris Brown when she forgave her father (who had been physically abusive to her mother). And though many viewers find what Chris Brown did to be completely unforgivable, regardless of needing help or family history, Rihanna responded to them by saying it was her personal decision to get past the abuse. Oprah added her two cents by saying “You forgiving him does not mean that you are weak or that you are a vicitm.” All in all, it was just terribly sad to see Rihanna, a strong woman and sensational artist, say with tears in her eyes that “I think he was the love of my life.”

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