Steve Harvey and Ted Harbert go way back — all the way to 1994, when Harbert, then president for entertainment at ABC, ordered a Harvey-led sitcom called “Me and the Boys.” The sitcom failed, as most do. But in 2011, “when my name came across his desk, he remembered me,” Harvey said this month, sounding [...]
La Toya Jackson Negotiating Deals For Michael Jackson’s Kids
March 6, 2013 | Posted by
La Toya Jackson was noticeably quiet when the Jackson family feud erupted in public last summer. But while her siblings battled executors over Michael Jackson’s $2 billion estate, and her niece Paris battled aunt Janet in the driveway, the estranged La Toya, 56, slyly moved in on the heirs to the fortune. She gathered Jackson’s [...]
Oprah Winfrey Named Harvard 2013 Commencement Speaker
March 4, 2013 | Posted by
Harvard University announced Monday that Oprah Winfrey will be the speaker for its 2013 graduation ceremony. “Oprah’s journey from her grandmother’s Mississippi farm to becoming one of the world’s most admired women is one of the great American success stories,” Harvard President Drew Faust said in the statement posted on the Harvard Gazette website. “She [...]
For Better or Worse, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey Partner on Sitcom
February 21, 2013 | Posted by
Oprah Winfrey Network is quickly becoming the Oprah Winfrey & Tyler Perry Network. OWN has picked up Perry’s sitcom For Better Or Worse, ordering a third season of originals and acquiring the show’s existing 45 episodes. For Better Or Worse, which previously aired on TBS, is OWN’s third scripted series from Perry, who last October signed an exclusive deal with the network for scripted [...]
Beyonce, Rihanna Enjoy Big Weekend Debuts
February 17, 2013 | Posted by
Beyonce and Rihanna enjoyed high profile premieres outside of the music industry over the weekend, with Ms. Knowles debuting her self-directed and produced documentary Life Is But a Dream on HBO, and Rihanna launching her clothing line in Britain. Coming off her high profile Super Bowl performance the week before, Beyonce continues to capitalize on [...]
Lance Armstrong Fights to Keep $12 Million Bonus Money
February 5, 2013 | Posted by
Lance Armstrong, who recently admitted to Oprah Winfrey that he cheated to win all his Tour de France titles, has no intentions of paying back nearly $12 million in bonus money that he received, according to a USA Today sports report. Tailwind Sports, which was the owner of Armstrong’s cycling team, included bonuses in its [...]
Oprah’s OWN Network Hit with Sex, Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit
February 4, 2013 | Posted by
Oprah Winfrey’s OWN network has been hit with a sex and pregnancy discrimination lawsuit by a former employee, who claims she was laid off as a direct result of her pregnancy. It’s been a rough few days for Winfrey, who recently injured her back picking up a birthday present from actor-director Tyler Perry. Now that [...]
Oprah Hurts Back Trying to Lift Birthday Gift from Tyler Perry
January 31, 2013 | Posted by
Oprah Winfrey injured her back yesterday trying to lift a large birthday present from good friend, Tyler Perry. So what do you get the woman who already has – and can afford – everything and anything she wants? According to Perry, you get her a giant floral arrangement and a strained back. Winfrey turned 59 on [...]
Tyler Perry to Launch 2 Series on Oprah’s OWN Channel
January 30, 2013 | Posted by
Two Tyler Perry projects, a one-hour drama titled, The Haves and The Have Nots, and a half-hour comedy series, Love Thy Neighbor, are set to debut on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN cable network station on May 29. Last year, Perry brokered a deal with OWN to develop a series of programming and other projects for the [...]
Lance Armstrong to Oprah: ‘I’m a Flawed Character’
January 18, 2013 | Posted by
Lance Armstrong was direct, if not contrite. He admitted during the first of a two-part interview with Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) during all of his record-setting seven Tour de France victories, an admission that contradicted decades of vehement denials that made even the most cynical pause. The disgraced former cycling champion [...]
