Blacklisted from the States, Oprah biographer heads to Toronto for book tour
After being denied media coverage from David Letterman, Larry King and Barbara Walters, author Kitty Kelley is promoting her unauthorized Oprah biography in Toronto, where news outlets are apparently out of Oprah’s firing range or desperate for any celebrity gossip that doesn’t involve Avril Lavigne’s relationship with that guy from The Hills.
In an interview with the Star, Kelley, who has previously come under fire for her biographies of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Reagan, says even her publisher, Random House, was nervous about bad-mouthing Oprah. Still, Kelley has had no problems arranging interviews in Toronto.
On Tuesday, Gawker released excerpts from the book that weren’t all that explosive: Oprah makes her staff sign non-disclosure agreements, flies in private jets and has her make-up team work wonders before a taping. Considering Harpo is a huge company, it makes sense for the staff to keep quiet (it’s not like it’s the only company that does this). Also, Oprah’s loaded, so why not have a jet? Television personalities wear make-up? Shocking. In another excerpt released yesterday, Oprah’s cousin says that the mighty O fibbed about stories of her difficult upbringing. Namely, contrary to what Oprah says, she wasn’t po’, she was just regular poor. The book sounds like a very long gossip article from US Weekly or In Touch—alas, without photos of Oprah in a swimsuit and arrows pointing to her cellulite.
• Oprah biographer has no trouble pitching book in Canada [Toronto Star] • Excerpts from the biography that Oprah doesn’t want you to read, part 1 [Gawker] • Excerpts from the biography that Oprah doesn’t want you to read, part 2 [Gawker]
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