Oprah: Lying Lesbian Teenage Hooker?

An unauthorized biography about Oprah Winfrey is being published, and you’ll be shocked to learn that a billionaire who owns an entertainment empire has secrets and closely guards her public image. In Kitty Kelley’s Oprah, the author alleges that Oprah dated John Tesh, lavished Diane Sawyer with gifts, engaged in lesbian affairs, worked as a prostitute when she was young, and lied about her humble upbringing. Let’s go to the highlight reel:

The way [Oprah] likes to tell it, she was so impoverished that she never had any new dresses or dolls and had to adopt two cockroaches as pets… But her family says that’s nonsense.”Where Oprah got that nonsense about growing up in filth and roaches I have no idea,” said [cousin] Katherine Carr Esters…

As a teen, Winfrey was a wild child, promiscuous to the point of prostitution, her relatives said. The future star would steal from her mother’s purse, pawn her jewelry and even turn tricks.

At one point, the rumors [about her sexuality] included seamy talk at ABC about a relationship between Winfrey and Sawyer when Oprah worked there. Employees there described “giggly late-night phone calls” and a series of lavish gifts from Winfrey — including gigantic sprays of orchids and a 1-carat diamond toe ring — to Sawyer.

As for Winfrey’s very public relationship with [Stedman] Graham, the pair do not even share a bedroom, according to the book. [New York Post]

I didn’t even include the part where Tesh skips out on Oprah because he can’t handle being in an interracial relationship, or Oprah’s father calling her associate Gayle King a “dirt hog” and “street heifer.” This would all be totally juicy information if I gave two craps about Oprah.