Three different students at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls attempted suicide in the past year, according to the National Enquirer’s review of local reports. In each case the attempts were thankfully unsuccessful, and details were kept private out of consideration for the girls and their families. One girl was recently expelled when her behavior and a suicide attempt made it apparent that she was mentally ill:

One student recently became suicidal after showing signs of mental illness and becoming disruptive in the classroom. This comes on the heels of two other suicide tries last year by girls at the school - one tried to kill herself by jumping off a building, and another cut her wrists.

None of the three girls died…

According to a local report, a 13 year-old girl began displaying signs of a mental breakdown shortly after her January enrollment. “She became disruptive in class and began cutting herself - she wanted to kill herself, ” a school insider told The Enquirer.

The academy administrators sent the girl to Tara Hospital, a respected Joahannesburg psychiatric clinic, where she later was diagnosed with epilepsy, the source said.

Shortly after the diagnosis, school administrators decided to expel the girl, who is now back with her family, according to the source.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, April 28, 2008]

There was a big abuse scandal at Oprah’s school last October when it came out that a female matron had been physically assaulting and sexually fondling girls. Oprah hired an investigative team and extra security and the woman has been fired, arrested and is facing an investigation. Oprah also suspended the CEO who initially ignored the problem, and gave all the girls a cell phone programmed with her phone number so that they could personally contact her. She was praised by the South African press for her swift action in putting a stop to the abuse and making an example of the abuser.

Many parents complained that although a free top notch education at Oprah’s posh school was an amazing opportunity for their daughters, it also was also an abrupt isolation from their families. Impoverished girls from age 11 to 12 with demonstrated academic success were chosen as the first students, and most had never been apart from their families in their lives. Their parents are only allowed to visit once a month for just two hours, and only four people can visit at a time. Girls are not allowed to call home during the week and must wait until the weekends. Girls with many brothers and sisters were suddenly completely cut off from their siblings and the extended family they grew up with.

So when I read that three girls at Oprah’s school had attempted suicide, my first thought was that good food, beauty treatments and yoga sessions can’t take the place of loving family relationships, but that may be too judgmental on my part. According to South African researchers, the suicide rate among school age children is as high as 7.8%, so maybe it’s inevitable that some girls are troubled. Oprah is trying to do a good thing, and she’s put her heart and money into it, but it seems she’s imposed her idea of a materialistic good life on girls who could have taught Oprah a thing or two about the importance of family.

Mariah Carey was on Oprah yesterday and she talked about her diet and exercise plan and showed some of her moves with her trainer. She does isometric exercises and water aerobics and her workout looked surprisingly easy. Oprah clarified after the segment showing Mariah working out at an indoor pool that Mariah does do 60-90 minute workouts and that those were just additional moves. Mariah said that’s true but that it’s more about diet for her now. She has a cook prepare low-calorie meals planned by her trainer:

After a close friend made a comment about her weight, Mariah says she was inspired to make permanent life changes and get into shape once and for all. Mariah says she has a secret weight loss weapon—her nutrition and fitness coach, Patricia. “Finally I just said, ‘It has to be a life decision if you’re going to really lose the weight,’” she says. “So Patricia created a number of things for me…one is a workout regimen.”

Mariah says her workouts typically last for 60 to 90 minutes and combine cardio with resistance training. To tone her arms, Mariah uses her own body weight and stretches to sculpt long, lean lines. She likes to hop into a pool for the cardio portion of her workout. “What’s great about working out in the pool is the water acts as resistance,” she says. “You’re actually exercising twice as hard without feeling it.”

Mariah says the most important part of her new, healthier lifestyle is her diet. Patricia tries to cook Mariah’s food without using oil and butter. She’s also helped her stop snacking.

When Patricia told Mariah to cut mac ‘n’ cheese out of her diet, Mariah says the news broke her heart. “That’s the thing that I have difficulty letting go of because that’s comfort food,” she says.

[From Oprah.com]

Oprah said that Mariah’s main closet is an incredible 3,000 square feet, and that she has a secondary walk in closet just for her lingerie in her new apartment in NY. The sexy sleepwear is arranged by color and includes items from one of her favorite vacation spots, Capri, Italy. Mariah said she also collects perfume bottles. Here’s the clip:

And here’s Mariah’s exercise routine. It’s like Pilates but it does look rather dainty. Oprah said that this pool wasn’t in Mariah’s new NY apartment.

Mariah Carey is promoting her new album, E=MC2, which is out in the US today. She now has more number one hits than Elvis, and is second only to the Beatles.

Thanks to Oprah.com for the pictures.

A couple of weeks ago we reported on how Tina Fey, star and creator of the super-funny “30 Rock,” was dreaming of casting Oprah Winfrey as her best friend on the show. That dream may become a reality, according to a source who was at a recent taping of Oprah’s show, on which Tina was a guest.

Dreams really do come true, and don’t let anyone tell you differently!

Just two weeks ago, while discussing some dream casting options for her NBC comedy 30 Rock, Tina Fey told reporters, “I still want Oprah to play my best friend. I feel like I want to spend time with Oprah, and I don’t know what I need to do to make that happen…”

Well, as of today, it might happen. A Chicagoland source just wrote in with this fantabulous news, “I just got back from a taping of The Oprah Show starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for Baby Mama—it’s hilarious, BTW. Anyway, it looks like Oprah may be a guest on 30 Rock next season! Oprah said she had heard Tina wanted to be her best friend, and so Oprah asked whether Tina meant in real life or on the show, and Tina said both. Oprah said ‘Have your people, call my people,’ but she was definitely interested, and she said she’d like to do it. Tina gestured to the people in the audience, to the effect of ‘You heard her say it.’ They also addressed it on-air very briefly. And there is even a shout-out to Oprah in Baby Mama!”

[From E!Online]

I am excited about this- not because I like Oprah, but because having Oprah appear on the show might actually get more people watching it. Normally, I’m not a big fan of stunt casting, there are a few instances where it’s done really well and with great results, but at this point “30 Rock” can use the ratings.

Salma Hayek was on Oprah yesterday and she talked about her six-month-old baby, Valentina Paloma, and her long distance relationship with the father of her baby, Francois-Henri Pinault.

On waiting to have a baby until she was 41
“It’s a little nerve-racking to wait that long, but it’s the best time to have it because you’ve done so many other things in your life. You just get it out of your system, and you can really relax into being a mother, which is the best thing that can happen to you. If you’re 23, you don’t know this because you think you have to do so many more things. But if you already did them, then you can really focus and enjoy every minute of it.”

She said later in the show that pregnancy happened naturally for her, and that “I thought I was going to have to work really hard at getting pregnant because of my age, but then I just got pregnant.”

On saying that she was hoping to have a boy
“I remembered how hard it is to be a woman. And I chickened out, and I said, ‘Oh, my God, I hope I get a boy.’ Because I just think they have it easier.”

But Salma said a doctor incorrectly told her at first that she was going to have a boy, and that her boyfriend, Francois-Henri, told her he really believed it was a girl anyway. Salma said “I remember when they told me it was a boy I was a little disappointed. So I think I really wanted a girl or I knew it was a girl. And then when she was born, I was so happy. Having a girl is the best.”

On choosing the name for her daughter and spoiling her

Salma says she picked the name “Valentina” for her daughter because it means “courageous one” in Spanish. “Then, one night, I got really nervous that she was going to be like a revolutionary,” Salma says. “And I said, ‘I better compensate with another name that’s a little softer.’ So I named her ‘Paloma,’ which means ‘dove’ in Spanish. She’s a ‘courageous dove.’”

Does Salma spoil Valentina Paloma? “She is so spoiled,” Salma says. “And I will not apologize for it.”

[From Oprah.com]

On having to work hard to lose weight after the baby
“Yes, and I’m still working on it. I gained a lot of weight, I had gestational diabetes. The pregnancy was really difficult for me. I thought, as soon as this baby is out, I’m just going to lose the weight super fast, because I’m going to breast feed, and everybody tells you that if you breastfeed it’s going to come out like this, it’s a lie! It’s not true.”

On not starving yourself to make sure your baby is healthy in the first months
“Except for a couple of exceptions, the only reason people lose weight like that when they’re breastfeeding, it’s because they’re not eating and they’re breastfeeding, and this is not good for the baby. You know how they tell you it takes nine months to get it, nine months to lose it? There are shortcuts, but it’s not good for the baby. So I’m taking my time. I’ve lost a lot, most of the weight, and I’m very proud of it because it’s been really hard work studying what kind of food to eat that’s healthy for me, healthy for the baby. But I’m still losing even if it’s slow, and I’ve been working out… and the rest is going to go when it’s time to go.”

On not needing a marriage license for a commitment
“After I got pregnant, I don’t know why, [but] the [ceremony] part of it is not necessary because we have such a huge commitment for each other. I don’t know that we have to go through the rituals.”

“[Men] have to work every day to continue to keep you wanting to marry them. They have to work at it a little bit, so it’s sort of sexy. I know people, once they get married, something happens, and I don’t know what it is, but something happens, and then they are not as in love with each other.”

On her long distance relationship

Salma and Francois-Henri have a unique relationship—they are based in different cities and spend most time separated by an ocean. Still, Salma says they see each other often. “Every time he comes, it’s an event. And every time I go, it’s the same and it’s so romantic and it’s so exciting. And the time we spend together, it’s 100 percent quality time. And then the time we’re not together, I have 100 percent quality time to my baby, to myself, to my career,” she says. “So for us, it works. Now, it’s not an open marriage. Nobody think this is too modern and don’t get the wrong idea—the level of commitment is exactly the same.”

[From Oprah.com. Quotes transcribed from video and thanks to Oprah.com. Commentary is original except where blockquoted.]

Salma also talked about her campaign with Pampers to eradicate tetanus in the third world through vaccinations. Every time you buy a specially marked pack of Pampers, they will donate the money for a vaccination shot to UNICEF.

As for losing weight from breastfeeding I have to say that it didn’t really work for me either, probably because I craved carbs a lot while I was doing it. I lost weight at first, but it was those last 10-15 stubborn pounds that wouldn’t budge without a lot of work and I had trouble dieting. It’s also harder to find the time to work out and eat right when you’re caring for a little one. When I was single I never realized how much work it was to be a mom, and I only have one kid. Kudos to all those moms who are raising more than one.

Oprah says baby Valentina is “like a little fresh pup”
And one more thing - when Oprah showed that cute first picture of Salma with her daughter, Valentina, Salma cooed and Oprah said she was “like a little fresh pup.”

I understand the deep love people have for their pets, but it kind of bothers me when people compare my child to their dog, and this happens often for some reason.

Here’s the video of part 1 of Salma’s interview. I’m working on finding part two.

Thanks to the Huffington Post for the heads up on this story and to Oprah.com for the photos.

Oprah has dedicated today’s show to her beloved cocker spaniel Sophie, who passed away last month at the age of 13. Sophie had been suffering from kidney failure. It’s been an especially hard year for Oprah, pup-wise, as she lost her other dog Gracie in July when she chocked on a plastic ball. Today’s show is on puppy mills, and contributor Lisa Ling presents what’s said to be a great – but hard to watch – documentary on the mills. Oprah’s staff decided to surprise her by opening the show with a tribute to Sophie featuring movies and photos. Unfortunately they didn’t realize just how emotional it would make her, and they had to stop filming after she completely broke down.

E! News has learned the TV titan broke down last week during a taping when producers decided to surprise Oprah with a video tribute to Sophie, her cocker spaniel who recently passed away after a battle with kidney disease.

The special show, which is scheduled to air this Friday, features an investigation into puppy mills. An audience member tells E! News that Winfrey broke down when the tribute began. “She was crying hysterically,” says the source. “She was uncontrollably sobbing. She could barely breathe it got so bad.”

The source says Winfrey’s emotional breakdown became so severe that producers stopped taping. Our source says some Winfrey staffers were regretting the surprise tribute. “They were like, ‘Oh, no, we shouldn’t have done that.’”

[From E!]

That’s so sweet and sad. Clearly Oprah’s staff members were well-intentioned. People love their animals differently, but it’s pretty clear that Oprah’s dogs are her kids. There must be this bittersweet relationship with them, knowing that she’ll likely outlive the animals she loves so deeply. I can’t blame her for breaking down – a month isn’t long in the grieving process.

After watching Lisa Ling’s reports, Oprah said that she would never buy puppies from a breeder again. Though she’s claimed that her dogs weren’t from puppy mills, Winfrey says that from now on she will only adopt from shelters.

A Baptist website says that an e-mail going around that warns Christians of the dangers of paying attention to Oprah’s harmful new age doctrine through her promotion of “A Course in Miracles” is accurate. New Age guru Marianne Williamson wrote the book A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, which is now being widely popularized by Oprah with visits by Williamson on her show and radio program. Author James A. Smith Sr. calls Oprah a “pied piper of heresies” and says “It’s time for Christians to just say no to the big O” or they’re going to hell.

In America’s celebrity-driven culture, perhaps the most harmful “Pied Piper” of heresies leading millions astray is Oprah Winfrey. Her adoption of anti-biblical doctrine is on display every day this year through her satellite radio network channel “Oprah & Friends.” It’s time for Christians to “just say no” to the big “O.”…

Although New Agers rely upon many sources, ACIM is among the most popular. New Age guru Marianne Williamson is responsible for popularizing the work through her book, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, while Oprah is to be credited with launching Williamson’s career through her appearances on Winfrey’s talk show.

And now, Williamson is one of the featured stars on the “Oprah & Friends” channel on XM Satellite Radio, reprising her role as advocate of ACIM through a year-long series on the course…

Contrary to the Bible’s clear teaching that our guilt is the result of the fact that we truly are sinners, separated from God by our sin, and rightfully under God’s judgment for our sin, ACIM teaches that we must realize “all guilt is solely an invention of your mind” and in this realization is salvation.

Warren Smith has helpfully summarized some of the other false doctrine of the course in the previously referenced article:

“There is no sin.”

“Do not make the pathetic error of ‘clinging to the old rugged cross.’”

“The name of Jesus Christ as such is but a symbol…. It is a symbol that is safely used as a replacement for the many names of all the gods to which you pray.”

“God is in everything I see.”

[The Apostle] Peter’s warnings [against false teachers] are clearly applicable to Oprah, Williamson and A Course in Miracles for undermining the faith with a false gospel and counterfeit “Jesus,” which in the end bring no actual spiritual nourishment or relief. Tragically, these teachers are leading people straight to Hell.

Christians should flee from Oprah and her cohorts and recommitment [sic] themselves to careful Bible study, in the context of a local body of believers with whom they have covenanted for mutual edification and accountability led by a faithful pastor. Of course, this isn’t as glamorous as Oprah—but neither is eternal punishment in Hell.

[From FloridaBaptistWitness.com via National Enquirer, print edition, April 6, 2008]

This same Baptist author is against including gays in Baptist events, opposes stem cell research, and wants creationism to be taught in school, so it’s not like I would normally agree with any of his viewpoints, but anyone that calls out Oprah deserves some kind of recognition. Maybe if more Christians unite against Oprah she’ll be forced into retirement, relying on her hokey new age belief system to somehow get through the day without constant adulation from the middle class female masses.

Tina Fey, one of my favorite smart, funny actresses, was recently interviewed by USA Today regarding the future fate of her award-winning but under-watched sitcom, “30 Rock.” Tina, after being asked about the recent stunt casting on CBS’ “How I Met Your Mother,” admitted that she’s been holding out for a certain guest appearance of her own: Oprah Winfrey.

here’s one star Tina Fey would really like to have on 30 Rock. “I still want Oprah to play my best friend. I want to spend time with Oprah,” Fey said in a press conference call a few minutes ago. “And I don’t know what I need to do to make that happen.”

She said Tim Conway (one of her childhood favorites) will be a guest this upcoming season, kicking off April 10 with five new episodes. And as for who she would like to see cast as a love interest for Liz Lemon, she says: “You know who would be good? Peter Dinklage. That guy’s awesome.”

By the way, Peter Dinklage is the actor who appeared in “The Station Agent” and played the angry little person who beats the crap out of Will Ferrell in “Elf.” I agree- he would be totally awesome as a love interest for Liz Lemon! Tina also said that if the right part and the right storyline came along, she wouldn’t rule out asking Britney Spears to appear on her show.

Fey said she’d be happy to have Britney Spears on, but explained that “usually we write a part first and then think about who would be good. If there were a part that was appropriate, I don’t think we’d hesitate to go with somebody like that. I worked with Britney twice at SNL and she was very professional and nice.” She didn’t catch her last night, however, on How I Met Your Mother. She said she’d have to watch it on “the computer.”

[From USA Today]

It might not be a bad idea for “30 Rock” to pull some stunt casting- “How I Met Your Mother,” which is a supremely inferior show, boasted its best rating ever with the Spears cameo. “30 Rock” actually has great writers and an amazing cast, but nobody has noticed- just think what they could do with a big star. They definitely could use the ratings.

Billy Joel, 58, and his young wife Katie, 27, were on Oprah yesterday to promote Katie’s new cookbook, The Comfort Table. Katie was just 23 when they were married in 2004. When they were on stage together Katie definitely dominated the conversation and Billy only spoke occasionally like he was used to it.

On how they met
Katie said she didn’t really know much about Billy Joel before she met him and thought he just had two hit songs, “Uptown Girl” and “Piano Man.” She said she was at the bar at the Pennisula Hotel with a friend and she almost bumped into him and that’s how they met. He then took her out to dinner and to his “Moving Up Out” show on Broadway. Billy performed the last two songs on stage and Katie didn’t realize that he was doing it just to impress her and that he didn’t normally perform in that show.

Here are Billy and Katie’s comments on their unconventional relationship.

Oprah: “Did you ever think you would marry an older man?”
Katie: “I never really thought about it, but it works for us. He has this job that’s allowed him to be really immature for a long time - rock star, and I happen to be more mature for my age so we meet somewhere in the middle.”

“So it never comes up?”
Katie: “Well, sometimes I don’t know a song or I don’t know a movie that he does.”

“You should get Billy Joel’s greatest hits!”

“Billy was it an issue for you?”
Billy: “No, no it worked. I’ve said this before, I would have married her if she was 30 years older. When it works, when it clicks, you don’t fight it, you go with it.”

“So what’s your relationship like with their daughter?”
Katie: “Alexa [22] is really a special person to me. She was my maid of honor in my wedding actually, and I’m always impressed by her. She has so much talent and grace. She’s just really special.”

“So you guys bonded over food? You cook for him?”
Yes, he loves it when I’m in the kitchen. I always say he’s my guinea pig when I’m writing recipes and he tries everything and is really honest.

[Transcribed from The Oprah Winfrey show, March 24, 2008]

While Katie answered the question about Billy’s daughter gracefully you can tell she doesn’t get along with her. She talked more in general terms and didn’t say they hung out and went shopping together or anything.

Katie seems like she wears the pants in the relationship despite the large age difference. She comes off as annoying and a type A personality, but mildly endearing at the same time. She reminds me of Reese Witherspoon’s overachieving character in Election, like she’s determined and is trying too hard to please.

Oprah’s designer Nate Burke decorated Katie and Joel’s New York home, and Katie gave a tour. She said she saw Burke on the Oprah show and contacted him to do their place. When she said she was surprised he did “average peoples” homes the audience laughed.

Billy Joel got a chance to talk to Oprah before his chatty wife came on. He briefly mentioned his battle with alcoholism but glossed over it. He’s sober now and said his life is good. He said that rehab is like jail and that it’s like being in the drunk tank.

When Oprah brought up his record of car accidents he blew it off and said they were due to bad driving, not being drunk.

This woman’s cookbook is going to take off like Jessica Seinfeld’s did after her Oprah appearance and that hardly seems fair. In this case it seems like she at least worked hard on it and actually was interested in cooking before hooking up with Joel. Katie has a food column in Hamptons magazine and has worked as a commentator on The Food Network. She said her fondest memories from childhood are around the dining room table in West Virginia where she grew up.

Billy Joel and Katie Joel on Oprah:

Billy Joel talks about his relationship with Kristie Brinkley, his daughter, and his problems with alcohol and cars:

And here are links to other segments from the show.
Katie Joel makes meatloaf
Billy Joel performs “Only The Good Die Young”

Katie and Billy Joel are shown at Madonna’s Raising Kabbalah benefit on 2/7/08, thanks to Splash News.

Oprah Winfrey has bought her ever-present best friend, Gale, a penthouse in New York City for $7.1 million. Page Six reports that it was purchased by a business with the name of Oprah’s recently departed cocker spaniel, Sophie:

GAYLE King, Oprah Winfrey’s best friend, has moved into a penthouse purchased in the name of Oprah’s recently departed pooch, Sophie. According to deed-transfer records released yesterday, a company called Sophie’s Penthouse LLC bought a $7.1 million full-floor sky palace atop the 36-floor building at 207 E. 57th St., reports The Post’s Braden Keil. It has three bedrooms, 31/2 baths, a large living room/dining area, and a 768-square-foot wraparound terrace.

Oprah was worth $1.4 billion in 2006 and she can easily makes the amount of money she spent on her girlfriend’s new apartment in interest. (It would take about two months assuming a 5% interest rate and about a billion in the bank.)

These two have denied repeated rumors that they’re more than just friends, with Oprah promising us that she’d tell us if something were going on, and saying that people just don’t understand a long-lasting deep friendship between two women.

For Oprah, a $7.1 million apartment is like one of us buying a friend some candles from Target. It’s a nice gesture that doesn’t cut into the budget at all. Oprah even set up a business with a cutesy name to give Gale the gift.

Oprah called her dog Sophie “my little girl,” and was devastated when she lost the dog to kidney failure on March 10th. It was the second death of one of Oprah’s beloved dogs in under a year. She lost another cocker spaniel ten months ago when the dog choked on a small ball while with a carer. Like Leona Helmsley, Oprah is said to be leaving her dogs $30 million in her will to ensure that they’re pampered in the event that she passes.

I wonder how much Gale will be getting. As much as we make fun of Oprah, I would surely kiss her ass if she was my friend. Like a nasty old aunt, you want to make sure she leaves you something.

Gale King is shown in the header image at The Great Debaters premiere on 12/11/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

The National Enquirer has a cover story this week claiming that the ubiquitous talk show host weighs 246 pounds. There’s some debate over whether that number is accurate and whether the Enquirer Photoshopped Oprah to look fatter on the cover, but you can see that she’s gained weight recently.

Their back story has her eating fried food while on the road with Obama and drowning her sorrows in carbs after Stedman broke up with her. Stedman supposedly told Oprah that he’s never really loved her and has always thought of her as a friend. That’s probably all made up, but we’re not above printing it:

“Oprah and Stedman had a late night heart-to-heart talk a few months ago and Stedman admitted that their long romance has been a sham,” said a longtime friend.

“The could had been in counseling, and during one of the sessions Oprah admitted that she was falling out of love with Stedman. But she wanted to give it another chance - so Stedman hung in there.”

“But in the end, it was Stedman who made a heartbreaking confession: He never really loved her.

“Stedman kept hoping their friendship would turn to love, but it never did.”

Stedman told Oprah that if they had really been in love, they would have gotten married years ago, continued the friend.

“There were tears and a lot of hurt, but in the end, they both knew that admitting the truth is better than living a lie…”

Oprah, 54, has tried to keep her mind off Stedman by working and supporting the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama. But while she’s been out on the road with Obama, she regularly eats greasy fast foods and deep-friend meals, an insider revealed - and she gained 26 pounds in two months.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, March 31, 2008]

Oprah is also said to mindlessly snack a lot while she’s working and they say she plans to get in shape again after the election.

I don’t really like Oprah and think she’s full of shit most of the time, but whether she gains weight or not I don’t really care. People want to point at her for what’s perceived as a personal problem because she’s self-important and richer than most of the world combined, and that’s totally understandable.

Oprah was ranked the 562nd richest person in the world on Forbes Magazine’s rich list in 2006 and was said to be worth $1.4 billion at that time. She does charity but she largely contributes in Africa, and while that’s admirable and all she also dissed American kids by saying that they didn’t want nice schools and would rather have iPods and status symbol clothing. First of all, who is she to talk about someone wanting expensive things when she glorifies consumption with those “favorite things” episodes? Also, when she founded that girls’ school and specified the details down to the color of the building she sounded more like she wanted to create little mini-Oprahs rather than help young girls in Africa. At least she’s doing charity and people are benefiting.

Here’s a funny clip from the first episode of Louis Black’s new show on Comedy Central, “The Root of All Evil,” in which comedians debate topics over who is more evil with Louis Black presiding. In this case it was Oprah vs. The Catholic Church. Comedian Paul F Thomkins went to an inner city school and asked kids if they would rather have a new iPod or a new school. One girl’s reaction when she learned that Oprah dissed American kids is priceless.

If you would like to watch the whole first episode of Lewis Black’s “Root of All Evil: Oprah vs. The Catholic Church” I clipped it for my husband and it’s in four parts. It’s funny as anything and also features comedian Greg Giraldo. (I know this is only tangentially related, but Oprah is involved.)

Lewis Black’s “The Root of All Evil: Oprah Vs. Catholic Church” Part 1
Lewis Black’s “The Root of All Evil: Oprah Vs. Catholic Church” Part 2
Lewis Black’s “The Root of All Evil: Oprah Vs. Catholic Church” Part 3
Lewis Black’s “The Root of All Evil: Oprah Vs. Catholic Church” Part 4