Suit denies sexual encounter on Oprah Winfrey’s jet

A flight attendant on Oprah Winfrey’s private jet who was allegedly fired for having sex during a flight in June while the talk-show billionaire dozed on sleeping pills filed a federal lawsuit Friday denying the allegations.
The lawsuit filed by Corrine Gehrls, 39, alleges that flight attendant Myron Gooch and Kirby Bumpus, who is the daughter of Winfrey’s friend Gayle King and is Winfrey’s goddaughter, made the false and defamatory accusations to cause her to be fired.

Gehrls and chief pilot Terry Pansing, 57, one of four pilots employed by Winfrey, were fired a short time later for “inappropriate intimate behavior,” the suit said.
A spokesman for Harpo Inc., Winfrey’s production company, declined to comment. Pansing, who lives in Sugar Grove, declined to comment. Attorneys in the case and Gehrls did not return calls seeking comment.
The lawsuit claims Gooch made the allegations after Pansing and Gehrls complained that he refused to work as scheduled, sometimes required that his hours be shifted so he could fly back to Chicago to “attend to his cats,” and insisted on staying in better hotels than the rest of the flight crew.
Gehrls and Pansing passed polygraph tests after the accusation but were not reinstated, the suit said.
According to the lawsuit, the jet was on the ground to refuel and take on a new crew at the time of the alleged encounter. Winfrey, Bumpus and other passengers were asleep “throughout the flight following their ingestion of sleeping pills,” the lawsuit claimed. The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 in damages from Gooch, Bumpus and Harpo.

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Oprah Winfrey chooses short story collection

CHICAGO — Oprah Winfrey has blessed the book world’s eternal underdog: the short story.
Publishing’s surest hitmaker announced Friday that her latest pick was Uwem Akpan’s debut collection “Say You’re One Of Them,” practically guaranteeing hundreds of thousands of sales, numbers generally unthinkable for short stories beyond works by Ernest Hemingway, John Cheever and other giants of the art form.\

By Friday night, “Say You’re One Of Them” was in the top 5 on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com.
In making her 63rd book selection on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” the queen of talk said she never before had given a book of short stories the nod because, she explained, “usually short stories leave you wanting something and you’re like, `Huh, what happened?”
Akpan’s book, she went on, was an exception.
“This is a first for me because each one of these five stories really just left me gasping,” she said in brief remarks toward the end of her show. “Just an incredible book.”
Akpan, 38, is a native of Nigeria and an ordained Jesuit priest who in 2006 received a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Michigan. His work is set in Nigeria, Rwanda and other African countries and often centers on children in distress. In 2005, The New Yorker featured him in its debut fiction issue.
Winfrey did not interview him during her show Friday, though Akpan was in the audience, and he stood up and waved.
Each of the separate stories in “Say You’re One Of Them” is told from the perspective of an African child, the narratives touching on the hardships and joys of growing up in Africa.
The audience applauded enthusiastically and cheered when Winfrey concluded by saying everyone would leave with a free copy of the book.
Until now, Akpan had endured the common fate of short story writers: well-liked by reviewers and little known to general readers. Combined hardcover and paperback sales for his book, first published in 2008 by Little, Brown and Company, were 32,000 before Friday, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks around 75 percent of sales.
Winfrey’s previous selection came a year ago, when she chose another first-time author, David Wroblewski, for the novel “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.”
Friday’s announcement caps one of publishing’s most memorable weeks, beginning with the release of the late Ted Kennedy’s “True Compass” and continuing with Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” and Jon Krakauer’s “Where Men Will Win Glory.”

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Oprah says Houston interview is her best ever

CHICAGO - Oprah Winfrey’s upcoming interview with Whitney Houston is said to be a, “jaw-dropping, open, honest and candid” conversation that the daytime talk show queen is calling, “the best interview I’ve ever done.”

Winfrey sits down with Houston for a two-day interview starting on Monday, Sept. 14, where Houston discusses her marriage with Bobby Brown, drugs, rehab and how her family saved her.

“I think it’s the best interview I’ve ever done. But I guess you’re supposed to let other people say that about yourself. I can’t think of a moment, ever, when I had a stronger connection to the person I was interviewing,” Winfrey said in a statement to Access Hollywood. “My approach to this interview was to not be judgmental in any way, and not to go in trying to get her to say things to make a ‘moment.’ I just wanted to be able to have an honest conversation with her. One woman to another woman. And the day of the interview I literally prayed about that all day long. I just wanted a connection between the two of us. And that is what happened.”

With friends and family looking on, including Clive Davis and her daughter Bobbi Kristina, Houston brings down the house with an emotional performance of “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” from her new album “I Look To You,” which is expected to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

“I think whether you liked or loved Whitney Houston before you will certainly have a deeper appreciation for what she has been through as a human being,” Winfrey continued. “And I mean, the fans are just going to love her even more.”

“The Oprah Winfrey Show: Season Premiere: Oprah And Whitney Houston – The First Interview” airs Monday, Sept. 14. “The Oprah Winfrey Show: Season Premiere Part II: Whitney Houston’s Show-Stopping Surprise” airs Tuesday, Sept. 15.

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Oprah Winfrey is firing back at the comments Chris Brown made about her

Oprah Winfrey is firing back at the comments Chris Brown made about her in the new People Magazine.
Here’s the background: People had asked Brown about the fact that Oprah did “a show on abuse, inspired by Rihanna.” Chris replied:
“I commend Oprah on being like, ‘This is a problem,’ but it was a slap in my face. I did a lot of stuff for her, like going to Africa and performing for her school. She could have been more helpful, like, ‘Okay, I’m going to help both of these people out.’”
We called Oprah to see how she felt about Brown’s statement, and her rep sent us the following response:
“Oprah is very appreciative that Chris Brown performed at her school but she takes domestic abuse very seriously. She hopes he gets the counseling he needs.”

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Oprah Winfrey taping to shut down Michigan Avenue

Chicago has long known how far Oprah Winfrey’s star power reaches.
Now the popular talk-show host has won city approval to shut down a significant stretch of the Magnificent Mile next week for the kickoff of her 24th season.
Plans call for Michigan Avenue to be closed to vehicular traffic from Wacker Drive to Ohio Street for more than two days — from 12:01 a.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Wednes- day.

The hourlong show will be taped at 5 p.m. Tuesday at a temporary stage to be built near the Michigan Avenue Bridge. The taping is free and open to the public.
Shoppers and businesses along the bustling Mag Mile wondered Tuesday how Winfrey pulled off closing the world-famous street for so long.
“That ain’t right,” said Dar Gable, 63, of Hyde Park. “I want to shut the place down for three days.”
Edward Parsons, director of Hilligoss Galleries, which is on the stretch that will be closed for Winfrey’s taping, echoed those concerns.
“All things aside, she’s just a celebrity,” Parsons said. With his gallery’s paintings going for an average price of about $25,000, he doubted that the attraction will draw any business.
But just mention Winfrey’s name to several others, and their faces light up.
“Everybody wants to go see Oprah, right?” asked a beaming Jana Elmore, 29, of the Lincoln Square neighborhood.
If not for the stars Winfrey attracts to Chicago, fans love her for her giveaways, Elmore said. The talk-show host has on occasion treated guests with lavish gifts, including cars.
Marco Trevino, assistant manager at a Gap clothing store that will be in the footprint of Winfrey’s taping, said he anticipates that the store will be busier than usual thanks to the powerful celeb.
“Thus far, we’re ecstatic,” said Trevino, thankful that a reporter confirmed what he thought was gossip all day.
But what might be great for pedestrians — Michigan Avenue with no cars! — could wreak havoc for drivers and public-transit riders.
The Chicago Transit Authority plans to temporarily change 15 bus routes. Commuters should use alternative routes such as Lake Shore Drive. Traffic aides and message boards also will direct motorists.
Mayor Richard Daley said any inconvenience is worth it and that motorists and commuters will understand.
Daley called Winfrey’s taping great publicity for the city and an event that will create jobs. The show will reimburse Chicago for any costs incurred, he said.
“This is a great thing we’re doing. I wish we could do this every day in the city of Chicago,” said Daley, calling Winfrey an “icon.”
But cabdriver Maxwell Anokye, who zips up and down Michigan Avenue six days a week to earn a living, begged to disagree.
“It’s not a good idea,” said Anokye, 45, a resident of the Rogers Park neighborhood who was upset that he will have to find a new route.
Last year, Winfrey kicked off her new season at Millennium Park. But Michigan Avenueusually isn’t closed off except for a few hours for the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival the weekend before Thanksgiving, though Chicago Film Office Director Rich Moskal said the thoroughfare has been closed for more extended periods for film productions.
Winfrey’s kickoff party will air Sept. 10, leading up to the season premiere Sept. 14. Spokeswoman Angela DePaul wouldn’t give away any hints at guests or topics other than the musical guest: the hip-hop group Black Eyed Peas.
Winfrey already is getting a local publicity boost. On a dreary Aug. 19 night, lights in the office windows of CNA Financial Corp. were strategically lit to spell out “Oprah 9-14,” and a photo was snapped. That photo, with Buckingham Fountain in the foreground, is displayed on the show’s Facebook page.
“When [Winfrey] asked us to be part of her promotion, it seemed like the right thing to do,” said CNA spokeswoman Katrina Parker. “We’re icons in our own right.”
Tribune reporters Dan P. Blake, Annie Sweeney and Mary Ellen Podmolik contributed to this report.

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