Justin Timberlake went on Oprah today, and without naming names he said he’s dating someone and that she “smells lovely.” To keep in touch with his unnamed love while he’s away on tour, he said they use webcams through the iChat program. He didn’t say they cyber or anything, I just made up that headline to be sensational because that’s my job. He also said he enjoys using webcams to talk to his friends as it makes him feel closer to them:

Justin has been involved in a few high-profile relationships in the past, but he’s keeping his latest romance under wraps. “I’m dating someone,” he says. “But all I can tell you is she smells lovely.”

Oprah may not get a name out of Justin, but he does share a few secrets about his personal life. “I get pretty romantic around her,” he says. Justin admits that he even sings to her sometimes.

While he’s away on tour, Justin says he stays connected to his mystery woman through iChat, a computer program that lets you see the person you’re talking to with a webcam. “Technology is a wonderful thing sometimes. … I find that to be really cool, when you can actually see someone’s face. I do it with my friends, as well, just to have a conversation back and forth. It just makes you feel closer, that’s all.”

Dating isn’t easy—especially when your relationship gets played out in the public eye. In a past interview, Justin said tabloids create soap operas out of people’s lives. “If two famous people are dating each other, what I found—and I could be wrong—but just in my personal experience, [they think] if you’re not going to get married, then you’re breaking up.”

[Oprah.com via GossipRocks]

It’s cool to hear a celebrity extol the virtues of technology. My husband and have used webcams when we’re away from each other and I use them with my family so they can see their grandson, they’re a lot of fun and do make you feel closer to the person. There’s also something romantic about it if you’re using them with your significant other, like the person is so real to you but so far away.

Oh and Justin talked about Britney to Oprah, and pretty much said he was too young to know her that well, that they were both kids, and that she has a big heart. He said he has nothing but love for her but hasn’t talked to her in years. He pretty much dispelled any myths that he was helping her out during her divorce or that he had talked to her while she was in rehab, as has been rumored.

Oprah: What do you think is going on with Britney?

Justin: I don’t know, to be honest with you. I haven’t spoken to her in years. I mean, there’s no ill will—I have nothing but love for her. It’s funny because we dated each other at a time…wow, I haven’t talked about this in a long time. It’s interesting.

Oprah: But you’ve never talked about it to me, so it’s okay.

Justin: Hey, let’s get it in, girl.

Oprah: Let’s get it in.

Justin: We were teenagers, you know?

Oprah: Yes, famous teenagers.

Justin: I think that’s basically the best way to describe what happened to us. I think she’s a great person, and I don’t know her as well as I did …. What I do know about her is she has a huge heart, and she is a great person.

[From Oprah.com]

He answered that quite diplomatically and was non-committal. He probably practiced it and gave Oprah the go-ahead to ask about Britney.

Meanwhile Justin hints at his rage at the paparazzi by saying they’re constantly around, even when he tries to do something boring like go grocery shopping. He said that if he thinks too hard about it, it can “consume” him”

Even when he’s doing something mundane, like grocery shopping or walking his dogs, Justin says he has constant companions…the paparazzi. At first, he says their presence was surreal.

“[When] you drive out of your [driveway] and people are kind of sitting waiting to follow you, you know, ‘He’s going to go to Whole Foods. We need to capture that.’ You’re just like, okay, this is kind of weird. … You kind of try to pretend it’s not there.”

Over the years, Justin says he has become defensive and protective if the paparazzi followed him while he was with friends and family. Now, he tries to come to an agreement with photographers. “It’s like, ‘Look, you guys have the technology of telephoto lenses and you can shoot those pictures [from far away],’” he says. “I think it’s one of those things that, if you let it, it will consume you.”

Justin was recently videotaped bitch-slapping a paparazzo and has been involved in well-publicized scuffles with them in the past.

Justin credits his success to his hard work, and says that it doesn’t come by luck. As for how he leads his everyday life, he says it’s kind of boring and that he enjoys golf, having game nights with his friends, and getting off remotely with Jessica Biel. Of course I made that last part up, but it’s all I could picture when hearing this story. Someone please hack into that stream and tape it for the benefit of the Internet gossip community.

All pictures from Oprah.com.

Like Leona Helmsley, whose dog Trouble inherited $12 million, billionaire Oprah is planning on bequeathing her dogs a sum that could serve as hefty lottery winnings.

When Oprah kicks, her dogs are going to get $30 million for their care. Don’t ask me how a handful of animals expected to live less than 20 years can go through $30 million, unless they have a team of experts at their disposal daily, as if they would know the difference.

The $30 million Oprah is said to be leaving her dogs is a bargain compared to the $250 million her maybe-boyfriend of 21 years, Stedman Graham, is said to have received as a “keep quiet or else” severance package.

The Enquirer reported last month that she paid Stedman the hefty sum “to seal their split”

Oprah Winfrey’s romance with Stedman Graham has run its course - and she’s handing him a handsome gift of $250 million to seal their split, the Enquirer has learned exclusively.

After 21 years together, the two are still close friends and even vacationed together in Canada recently, but the romance is gone from the relationship and they’ve decided to go their separate ways, sources say…

Oprah and Stedman, 56, began dating in 1986 and announced their engagement in November 1992. But they never made it to the altar - and Oprah decided to pull the plug on their love affair this summer.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, August 27, 2007]

I wonder how much Oprah is leaving to her bff Gail?

While Stedman is set for life, Oprah’s pooches better watch out. Leona Helmsley’s newly rich dog Trouble is getting sued by Helmsley’s former housekeeper for biting her on several occasions.

I wonder if Oprah’s help knows about how much cash she’s leaving her dogs and if they feel like dupes for working faithfully for her ass for years and not getting so much as a mention in her will. Dogs are creatures that love you without question, but they can also live quite well off a gardener’s salary for a year, while the gardener and his family have to struggle to make ends meet.

Update: Commentors are right that I don’t know that Oprah’s help aren’t mentioned in her will. This was an assumption that might not be true.

I’m generally alright with Oprah. I don’t think she’s the next coming of Christ like a lot of people do, but she’s cool enough. She’s done some good, and used her money and power to try to influence people in a positive way. And after her show hit a major scandalous steak for several years, she turned it around to the point where it’s not even recognizable from the trash it used to be. But Oprah can be a bit of a diva, and seems to have a “What Oprah wants, Oprah gets” mindset. She’s thrown her support behind Barack Obama for the upcoming US presidential elections, and is hosting a fundraiser for him on September 8th at her $64 million compound in Santa Barbara, California. For some reason she couldn’t host the guests at her home (I don’t care if she invited half the county, you’d think she’d have room somewhere in a $64 million compound) and wanted to put them up at the San Ysidro Ranch nearby. Well the ranch was booked for a wedding, which wasn’t to Oprah’s liking. Apparently Oprah and her people have been calling the bride and trying to strong arm them into moving or giving up their rooms. The bride, who is an attorney, supposedly refused to give in.

“The talk-show queen is holding a star-studded fund-raiser for presidential wannabe Barack Obama on Sept. 8 at her $64 million estate near Santa Barbara, Calif., and she wanted out-of-town guests to be able to stay at the nearby San Ysidro Ranch. But - horrors - it was booked for a wedding that weekend. ‘Due to the proximity to and the cachet of the ranch to Oprah Winfrey’s estate, Oprah’s people have been calling the bride to either move or vacate some of the rooms to accommodate her guest list,’ our source snitched. ‘The bride, an attorney, is not budging.’

“Well, she may have budged a bit.

“San Ysidro Ranch Manager Marco Perry denied that Winfrey’s people had talked to the bride but said, ‘The wedding party did cancel a few rooms - but we didn’t charge them a cancellation fee because there was such a demand for the rooms that weekend.’ Winfrey’s representative at her production company, Harpo Inc., insisted that no calls to the bride were made.

“In any event, the fund-raiser for Obama will have some strict rules. No cameras will be allowed in, and there will be heavy security to make sure it’s enforced. Nor will guests be able to enter Oprah’s house. Instead, they’ll be dining alfresco on blankets under tents. And to avoid a mass crush of limos, they must park at a ‘greeting center’ eight miles away and take a shuttle bus to Winfrey’s estate.

Among the famous Obama supporters expected are George Clooney, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg.”

[From Page Six]

Well it sounds like they somehow got the bridal party moved. I hope Oprah paid off the bride herself instead of the hotel, so she’d at least be compensated for her trouble. I love the line about the bride not budging… oh but she did give in. Remember a few years ago when Oprah randomly “surprised” some people at their weddings by showing up? I think it was the basis for “Wedding Crashers.” I remember her proudly airing the footage on her show, and showing everyone how she graced the couple and their wedding with her presence. But a lot of people pointed out that Oprah also stole focus from the couple on their special day, and without their advance knowledge or permission. If Oprah showed up at my wedding I’d kick her in the shins and tell her to get the hell out. Unless she offered me one of her famous free vacations. Then we could talk. I’m guessing that’s what happened with this bride too.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Oprah when she was honored by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity with a Humanitarian award in May. Header image at the 2007 CFDA Fashion Awards in June.
Images thanks to PR Photos.

Working for Oprah may sound like a dream – remember when she took all of her employees on holiday to thank them for their hard work? Well, being her personal assistant may be more ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ than anything else.

According to one Harpo employee, Carla Bird, the girl Friday to Oprah’s TV co-executive producer Lisa Erspamer, filed for 800 hours of overtime from January through April of this year.

“Several weeks ago, it was discovered by accounting and human resources,” our source said. “Most employees would have been walked right out the door. Well, that’s just not the case for good ol’ ‘Birdie.’ ”

Lisa Halliday, chief of communications at Harpo, insisted the story was false and said Bird’s claims were totally legit.

“Many of our employees contribute significant hours of overtime during our production season. This is quite common within the television industry,” she told Page Six.

“From January to April 2007, this employee legitimately accumulated approximately 800 hours of overtime.”

New York Times

So how many hours a day does this clock up to? Seven days a week, 12.5 hours a day, over 17 weeks! No one really believes television is glamorous anymore do they?

However, at least the financial rewards were more generous – Carla Bird was paid $65,000 for the overtime!

I’m not sure if being overtime like this is across the board in America, or just a generous package from Oprah to her staff who obviously earn it, but in New Zealand you can work these kinds of hours and not get paid any extra if you’re on a salary. Which really, makes you a big ol’ loser. If there were no financial rewards, why do it?

Oprah is also in the news this week as a self-published author claimed his book was going to be her next book club pick, and that he had been interviewed by the big O.

Bill Schneider, Provincetown’s administrative director of tourism, even posted a transcript of the purported interview with Winfrey on his Web site, though it later was taken down, the Cape Cod Times reported Thursday.

“Crossed Paths,” was self-published by Schneider in March, and recounts the story of two men who fell in love in the 1970s. One later committed suicide.

A spokeswoman for Harpo Productions, Inc., Winfrey’s studio, said Schneider never appeared on the show and the book was never listed on Oprah’s Book Club.

“I acknowledge an error in judgment, in my attempt to memorialize (in my book) someone very special who didn’t get a chance to finish his life,” Schneider said.

Boston.com

While lies are not the best way to get ahead, what genius this would have been if it had worked out. That’s worth an interview on Oprah’s show just for being so clever.

Barack Obama, US Senator from Illinois and the man many celebrities are backing for US President, has read all six books in the Harry Potter series, according to his wife, Michelle. America’s hope read all of the books out loud with his nine-year old daughter Malia, and just saw Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix with her last weekend.

Michelle Obama says she’s not sure how her husband will have time to read the final book in the Harry Potter series in between his busy campaign schedule, but she’s sure he’ll find a way:

In an interview with The Associated Press, Michelle Obama said her husband has read the books aloud with 9-year-old Malia and saw the latest movie, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” with her last Sunday.

Both are awaiting the release of J.K. Rowling’s seventh and final book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” this weekend, but finding time to read won’t be easy, she said.

“The challenge will be scheduling Harry Potter reading time in between Iowa and New Hampshire and fundraising, but I guarantee you they will figure out a way to do it,” Michelle Obama told the AP. “Harry Potter is huge in our house.”

She wasn’t sure how the family would get their copy of the book.

“He handles all of that. That’s one of those things, I’m like ‘You are the Harry Potter parent,’” she said.

[AP article from EWoss News]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is out at 12:01 am Saturday, and fans have been lining up outside some bookstores for a days. Spoilers have been leaked online, and I saw a video over at Oh No They Didn’t of two guys who worked at Barnes and Noble revealing spoilers after they broke into the storeroom and read the book. I was afraid to post it here for fear of backlash. I’m one of those people who is too curious not to find out what happens first, but I’ll still read the book as all the fun is in getting there. Most people would rather not have the end ruined for them though.

In other Obama news, Oprah is going to hold a fundraiser for the candidate on September 8th at her estate in California. She is quoted as saying he’s her “favorite guy” and “choice” for the US Presidency.

The 45 year-old Obama has been married to his wife Michelle for 15 years. She is also a lawyer and they met when they both worked together at a firm in Chicago in 1988. They have two daughters, Malia, 9, and Sasha, 6.

Header image is from the Obama family’s 2006 Holiday card and was found at Abovethelaw.com

Proving once again that the Superbowl heals all wounds, cures all ills and brings us as a divided nation together again. The Letterman and The Oprah snuggled up on a sofa to let the love flow during that game of games.

Planet Gossip has the skinny:

If you haven’t heard or seen it by now, the two popped up during a break early in the game. Letterman, an Indianapolis native, wore a Colts jersey while snuggling on a couch with Winfrey, who was in a Chicago Bears jersey. “You want the Bears, and I want the Colts, but we both win because we’re in love,” Letterman, with a mouthful of food, says. Winfrey then says, “Honey, don’t talk with your mouth full.”

The long-standing feud dates back to a Pleiestocene Epoch Time magazine interview. Oprah said she wasn’t ever going back on Letterman’s show as previous interviews left her feeling like “the butt of the joke.” To his credit Dave refrained from a slew of big butt jokes, but spent years, literally years, asking Oprah to c’mon on home to Late Night and let the healing begin …The O.P. was not having it and a regal silence ensued. The Queen was not amused. The O.P silence lasted longer than O.C the series. Just ask Mischa Barton who was I think was born and grew to skinny womanhood during this era of silent D’Oprah.

There have been cracks in the glacial freeze before including even brief appearances on Letterman’s show complete with awkward unconvincing public hugs. None have ever been so heartwarming as the two finally spending quality couch time with the nation.

Yes like children of Divorce we have learned to take our closure where we can find it … Mom and Dad aren’t ever getting back together, but if they can make nice at graduation … well that aint nothing. The healing has begun …and that’s just as D’Oprah as it gets.

From E-Online:

If you measure riches in cold hard cash, Oprah Winfrey’s got it going on. And for those of you who measure riches in love and warm, fuzzy feelings…well, Winfrey’s got plenty of that going for her, as well.

The multimedia maven topped two snazzy lists this week, landing at number one on Forbes’ first-ever compilation of the 20 richest women in entertainment and placing first in the annual Harris Poll that determines America’s favorite TV personalities.

From the Upcoming Issue of O Magazine: The Oprah Winfrey Magazine

WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE

So here we all are just on the far side of that crazy holiday season full of wishes and expectations. The pressure to give and receive—and spend until you wish you hadn’t. It’s a part of the culture we need to change, or we’ll all pay a price for mindless giving. Well not me … its actually mathematically impossible for me to spend other than mindlessly . Too many zeros for the human mind to grasp. Sometimes I have to actually overspend just to reduce the neck strain from the krugerrands weighing down my Herme’s bags (which arrive pre-release, pre-season, in bulk and for free –‘ cause Herme’s knows all about the cost of not showing Oprah love).

Four years ago, you may remember, I went to South Africa to bring gifts to 50,000 children, many of whom had never received a present in their lives. That was the first year I won the Harris poll as America’s number one favorite Oprah – Lightbulb moment!.

I knew I couldn’t rely on popularity alone to keep on knowing WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE. Love lists are all very nice, but the OPRAH mobile had its GPS set for Benjaminville. I mean sixteen years of a number one talk show hadn’t gotten me to number one on that list. I searched high and low till I found the most overbearingly Sure of Knowing WHAT HE KNOWS character I could — and syndicated his shiny-pated ass

Those Dr. Phil syndication dollars pushed me over the finish line onto Forbes Billionaires list . What did I learn? I learned that I can have it all … all the money … all the love and I can be the covergirl on my own magazine every month … I can have a pony made of cookies – and Steadman won’t mind the crumbs in bed.

I Feel a life lesson coming on!

“Everyone has the power for greatness—not for fame, but greatness, because greatness is determined by service.” Even before I did a make-over on Coretta Scott King, who’s helmet hair was not of service to anyone, I knew my favorite quote, I knew in my heart that its message was true. As far back as I can recall, my prayer has been the same: “Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.” Naturally I had no idea back in the day what a challenge that would be for God … who knew that the greatness of myself would be so large and in charge. I mean it’s gonna be quite a job for God to come up with something than what I did all by myself … Where do you go from up?

All of us need a vision for our lives and even as we work to achieve the vision, we must surrender it to the power that is greater than we know. The power of the Forbes TOP 100 Most Richest Celebrities List or the polling expertise of the nice people at Harris are obvious examples of candidates for this greater power.

It’s one of the defining principles of my life that I love to share: God can dream a bigger dream for you than you could ever dream for yourself. Success comes when you surrender to that dream—and let it lead you to the next best place. And of course, for me, shortly after the Next best place – to the Very Best Place of All … that being the number one place on all lists everywhere.

What I know for sure is that if you want to have success, you can’t make success your goal. As my friend Wintley Phipps, the gospel singer and minister, once told me, the key is not to worry about being successful, but to instead work towards being popular and rich —and the success will naturally follow.

How can you serve your way to greatness? That is surely a question the staff at Hermes know the answer to — I schooled them there. When you shift your focus from success to accumulating vast amounts of pollable love and money from strangers, your work as a teacher, clerk, doctor or dot-commer will instantly have more meaning. Relative, of course, to those of us who are already front loaded with super-meaningful buckets of money, love and cookie based ponies.

Oprah

Ok, she didn’t really say that, but I’m not an Oprah fan so you’ll forgive me for spinning the title. Oprah spent $40 million on the “Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls” in South Africa. She hand picked 152 students from among the 3,500 applications she received. When asked why she didn’t build a big school in the US for the kids that need help at home, she said that they wanted material stuff instead so screw ‘em.

But the talk show queen is ticked that people aren’t appreciating her generosity, and says Americans would just waste a golden opportunity to get a good education at her expense. “I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools [in the U.S.],” she tells Newsweek. “If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don’t ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school.” But that didn’t stop Oprah from including a yoga studio and beauty salon in the plush girls’ school.

Doesn’t Oprah contribute to our materialist culture with crap like her “favorite things” and “most expensive shit” shows? I’ve seen her fawning over handbags and acting like it’s heaven to taste thousands of dollars worth of chocolate on her show. Who is she to complain?

Oprah is buying a new “condo” in an exclusive Chicago building. Although her new place takes up an entire floor, it’s just half the size of her last place, which was 10,000 square feet. Word is that she’s moving for the sake of her five dogs, who were annoying her neighbors in her last building.

Oprah and Stedman are finally moving in together and Life and Style speculates that they’re going to be married after over a decade of dating:

At last! Life & Style has learned exclusively that Oprah Winfrey, 52, and longtime beau Stedman Graham, 55, are set to make it official — they’re going to cohabitate!

“They will be moving together to a new place,” a rep for Oprah confirms.

Could this be the first step towards marriage?

Insiders tell Life & Style that Oprah and Stedman could finally be ready to walk down the isle. “At Oprah’s age she no longer feels she has to prove anything about being a strong single woman,” says one insider. “She’s happy to let Stedman have what he wants.”

While the rep downplays talk of nuptials, the insider says Chicago would be the frontrunner for the wedding location — and Oprah just bought the perfect love nest there: a $6 million, 5,000-square-foot apartment!

Congrats to Oprah and Stedman!

If Oprah gets married now, it doesn’t really seem like she’s doing it for love. I doubt it will happen though. She’s been with Stedman forever and they’re only just moving in together? I’m not buying it.

Tom and Katie are having yet another wedding celebration this Saturday at the Beverly Hills mansion of his business partner Paula Wagner. It’s meant to be a big affair for friends and family who couldn’t travel all the way to Rome to get the Scientology pitch. Noticeably absent from the guest list is Oprah, who certainly pissed off Tommy for commenting that she didn’t “buy” his couch-jumping antics proclaiming his love for the little actress on her show.

Oprah was all “I don’t get invited to everyone’s wedding” when she was asked about being snubbed from the Rome wedding. I wonder what she’s going to say about this, which kind of brings the snub home:

TomKat didn’t invite the talk queen to their wedding in Italy. Now Winfrey’s rep confirms that she hasn’t been asked to the post-honeymoon bash thrown by Paula Wagner, Cruise’s UA producing partner, and Cruise’s agent, Rick Nicita. (Some believe that Viacom chief Sumner Redstone started thinking about cutting Cruise loose after seeing his infamous couch-jumping antics on Oprah’s talk show.)

Look for lots more pictures of smiling brainwashed faces in your favorite glossies next week. TomKat must not have received enough coverage for their last wedding, and is planning another just as the news dies down.

After his second wedding party, Cruise will start work on a new war film called Lions for Lambs with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.

Here are pictures of Katie bringing Suri to meet Victoria Beckham during her stay in LA. Beckham is said to be looking for real estate in the Cruise’s neighborhood. Pictures from KatieHolmes.com