Mo'Nique (AP photo)

Oscar-winning actress Mo’Nique publicity stated she was molested by her brother when she was a child. 

Her brother, Gerald Imes, stepped forward to admit he molested Mo’Nique.  Imes appeared on the April 19 episode of the “The Oprah Winfrey” Show.  Mo’Nique’s parents also were on the show. 

Excerpts from the interview are posted below. Click here to read the full interview.

“I’m here today to first acknowledge what I’ve been in denial for for 37 years, and that is I did assault and inappropriately touch my sister in manners that were uncomfortable for her.  And for that, I apologize and I’m humbly sorry that those actions had taken place.”

“Most of the time, the abuse that I did with my sister took place while she was asleep or the appearance that she was asleep.”

“I can only hope by coming forth today, since I couldn’t reach out to her, that … somewhere along the line with the apology and the truth of it finally coming out after 37 years, that hopefully somewhere, somehow … we can come back together as brother and sister and say: ‘You know what? This happened. I’m sorry that it happened. I’m sorry that it happened to you, and that I was the perpetrator, the one that did it to you. However, I understand your pain. I, too, was there. Now lets share this together and move on. Let’s help someone else.”

Click here to read the full interview.

Thankfully, Mo’Nique was able to overcome the sexual abuse, and she went on to become a successful television sitcom actress, stand-up comedian, talk show host and film actress.

Tyler Perry and Janet Jackson on "Today Show." (AP photo)

Singer/actress Janet Jackson and film director Tyler Perry were guests on Friday’s episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Jackson and Perry discussed their new movie “Why Did I Get Married Too,” and Jackson discussed the death of her brother Michael and the interventions they had with him.

Excerpts from the interview are posted below.

“I got a call from an assistant. She had said that there was something on TV about my brother being ill. So I immediately called home, and I was able to reach my sister La Toya, my nephew, Austin, and I think my brother, Jermaine, at the time. They were on their way to the hospital. I can’t remember exactly who I wound up calling back, to see how things were going. That’s when they told me he had passed.”"It’s hard for me to look at an image of his or listen to his music on the radio.”

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about him. All of us in the family think about him every single day.  The last time I saw him, which was two days before my birthday at my parents’ surprise party, I was being silly like I always did when we were kids, and he kept looking at me and just cracking up.”

“We knew that he had a problem. We all did. I think a lot of people think that we were in denial, which we weren’t at all. We tried interventions several times.  He was very much still in denial.”

(from Tyler Perry) “I wouldn’t dare say anything more than she would want me to, but they really, really tried.  The entire family. I want the whole world to know how much they tried. There were all those reports that they didn’t do anything.  That’s not true.”

Click here for the complete interview.

(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

 

From ASSOCIATED PRESS via NewsOK.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Lawyers for Oprah Winfrey say the talk show host has settled a Philadelphia defamation lawsuit filed by the ex-headmistress of her girls school in South Africa.

The lawsuit by former headmistress Nomvuyo Mzamane claimed Winfrey defamed her in remarks made in the wake of a 2007 sex-abuse scandal at the school.

The headmistress said she had trouble finding a job after. A trial had been set to start next week.

A joint statement released Tuesday by lawyers for both sides says Winfrey and Mzamane met “woman to woman” and resolved their differences.

When news of the scandal broke in 2007, Winfrey said she had “lost confidence” in Mzamane and was “cleaning house from top to bottom.” Mzamane claimed she didn’t know about any sexual abuse.

A dorm matron at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls has been charged with abusing six students. Winfrey has called the allegations crushing given her own stated history of childhood sexual abuse.

The dorm matron, Tiny Virginia Makopo, has pleaded not guilty to 14 charges

Winfrey and several schoolgirls were expected to testify at the defamation trial.

(AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

“American Idol” runner-up Adam Lambert announced on his Twitter page that he will appear on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” for an interview. 

I assume Winfrey will ask him questions about his sexually explicit stage performance that caused controversy at the American Music Awards. 

Some people say Lambert wanted to shock the audience as a publicity stunt to draw attention to his new album. 

Whatever the reason, it obviously worked out in Lambert’s favor.  Lambert gets to sit down with Oprah, but Kris Allen (who beat Lambert on American Idol) doesn’t get a big exclusive sit-down interview with the talk show queen.

An air date for Lambert’s appearance hasn’t been determined.

Oprah Winfrey at an event in Chicago (AP Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast)

Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey is caving into pressure and will remove gospel singer BeBe Winans from an upcoming episode of her show. 

Winans appeared on Oprah’s show last month, and he taped another appearance during Oprah’s karaoke challenge. 

Winans was charged with a misdemeanor domestic assault  earlier this year, accused of shoving his ex-wife to the ground.

His ex-wife Debra Winans publicly complained that Oprah shouldn’t have allowed BeBe to appear on her show because she took a hard stance against Chris Brown when he was charged with assaulting Rihanna. 

Many bloggers (myself included) accused Oprah of having a double standard. 

Apparently, Oprah agrees because  her spokesman issued a statement saying BeBe will no longer appear on the karaoke challenge episode.

Earlier this year, gospel singer BeBe Winans was arrested on a domestic assault complaint accused of pushing his ex-wife Debra Winans to the ground. 

However, Oprah didn’t make critical comments about BeBe.  In fact, BeBe was invited to appear on the show to promote his new CD with his sister CeCe Winans. 

During an interview with TMZ, BeBe’s ex-wife Debra said she felt hurt when Oprah allowed BeBe to appear on her show especially after she was critical of Chris Brown.

No one really knows what occurred during the incident between BeBe and his ex-wife.  Everything is he said/she said.  But with Chris Brown and Rihanna, we’ve all seen the photos of Rihanna’s battered and bruised face.  Maybe that’s why Oprah was more harsh toward Chris. 

Should BeBe Winans have been allowed to appear on Oprah’s show? Is it a double standard? Let me know in the comments section below.

Mike Tyson, left, bit off a part of Evander Holyfield's ear during a boxing match in 1997 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (AP photo by Jack Smith)

Mike Tyson is returning to the Oprah Winfrey Show for the second time this week.  But this time, his rival Evander Holyfield will join him on the show. 

Remember in 1997, when Tyson bit off part of Holyfield’s ear during a boxing match? The two boxing legends will discuss the ear-biting incident.  It will be the first time they have spoken since that match.

Tyson also will take questions from the audience.  The show will air Friday (Oct. 16) on ABC.

Boxing legend Mike Tyson during a fundraising even in Malibu, California (AP Photo by Dan Steinberg)

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson’s appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show will air Monday (Oct. 12) on ABC.

Surprisingly, the boxing legend agreed to sit on Oprah’s couch and answer any questions she wanted to ask. 

If I were interviewing Mike Tyson, there’s no way I could narrow my questions down to fit into one episode. 

There would be so many questions I would ask, including his marriage to Robin Givens, his alleged abuse toward Robin Givens, his rape conviction, his face tattoo, why he bit off Evander Holyfield’s ear, the recent death of his daughter, his relationship with boxing promoter Don King and his outstanding boxing career. 

Hopefully, Oprah will ask those above questions too.

Tyler Perry poses for a portrait at the Core Club in New York (AP Photo by Shiho Fu)

Film director Tyler Perry decided to come forward with revelations of some horrific events that occurred during his childhood. 

Perry said he was sexually molested as a child, and he saw his father molest a friend of his.  He also said his grandmother made him take baths in ammonia.

Perry reveals other shocking details about his childhood.  He posted a lengthy letter on his Web site.  The full letter is posted below. 

“Hi there.  I know I’ve been a little quiet lately but I’ve been in silent reflection, quiet meditation, and prayer. Turning 40 is such a blessing. Especially because as I child I always thought I would die before I grew up.”

Tyler Perry at the premiere of his film "I Can Do Bad All By Myself." (AP Photo by Peter Kramer)

“Believe me when I tell you, PRECIOUS is a powerful film. After seeing it, I had to be involved. I didn’t write it or direct it, nor am I making any money from it. Oprah and I both are giving any proceeds we would make to charity. I just wanted to get as many people to see it as I can. It gave me so much hope after watching it. For everyone who has been a Precious, male or female, this movie will make you so glad you made it through.”

“It took me through some raw emotions and brought me to some things and places in my life that I needed to deal with but had long forgotten. It brought back memories so strong that I can smell and taste them. Like, when I was very young, my mother decided to leave my father…she had had enough of his insanity. She loaded me and my two sisters up in an old Cadillac that he had bought for her, and drove to California. When he realized she was gone, he called the police and reported the car stolen, as it was in his name. My mother was arrested and my two sisters and I were put in the cell with her. He and my uncle drove from Louisiana to California to get us. We spent several days in jail waiting for him. He bailed her out and couldn’t wait to get her into the car. He got into the back seat with us and beat her black and blue from California to Louisiana, as me and my sisters watched  Even though I was only two or three, I know that this had to have some effect on me.  I’m tired of holding this in. I don’t know what to do with it anymore, so, I’ve decided to give some of it away.”

“Memories at 40: Not long ago, I was asked to speak at an engagement. I walked in and I was told that they had assigned a person to take care of me while I was there. She walked up to me, all of 5’2 ” of her, and asked if I needed anything. I looked at her and started to sweat. It took me back thirty-something years to her apartment. I couldn’t have been more than 10 years old when I went over to play with her son and Matchbox cars. She opened the door in skimpy lingerie. There was a man sitting on the couch, smoking. She told me that her son was in the bedroom. I was there playing with him about 20 minutes when I heard the man arguing with her. He said he was leaving and slammed the door. She came into the bedroom and told me that I had to go home. She told her son to take a bath and she locked him in the bathroom. I was at the front door trying to get out, when she came in and laid on the sofa and asked me if I wanted the key. I told her I had to go home as it was getting dark. She put the key inside of herself and told me to come get it, pulling me on top of her.”

Tyler Perry at the premiere of his film "Madea Goes To Jail." (AP photo by Peter Kramer)

“My mother was out one night, as she loved to play bingo, and my father came ome…mad at the world. He was drunk, as he was most of the time. He got the vacuum cleaner extension cord and trapped me in a room and beat me until the skin was coming off my back. To this day, I don’t know what would make a person do something like that to a child. But thank God that in my mind, I left. I didn’t feel it anymore, just like in PRECIOUS. How this girl would leave in her mind. I learned to use my gift, as it was my imagination that let me escape  After he was done with his rant he passed out. Since my aunt lived two doors down, I ran to her. She saw me and was horrified. She loaded her 357 and went to kill him. Holding a gun to his head, her husband came and stopped her.”

“Memories at 40: I got a call not long ago from a friend. He told me that a man that I knew from church when I was a kid had died and he didn’t have any insurance. His family was trying to reach out to me to see if I would pay for his funeral. I quickly said no, but I wish I would have said yes. There is something so powerful to me in burying the man that molested me. I wish I would have dug the grave myself.”

“Memories at 40: I was about 8 or 9 years old. I had a crush on a little girl across the street. She would come over to my house and we’d play. She was about 12 or 13. One day she stopped coming and when I asked her why, she told me that my father was touching her. I didn’t believe her, so I talked her into staying one night. We were both asleep — she was in one bed and I was in another. I opened my eyes to see my father trying to touch her and her pushing him away. I moved in my bed trying to make him think I was waking up. He looked over at me and left out of the room. Not long after that, he beat me mercilessly for something again. Another mind game set up, so I told my mother what he had done. The blood drained from her face. We left that day. We were at my Aunt’s house and he came there about 1am. Not long after that we were back at home. Nothing would compare to the random, drunken, violent beatings I would receive from then until I was 19.”

Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey arrive on the red carpet for a screening of the film "Precious" during the Toronto International Film Festival. (AP photo by Sean Kilpatrick)

“Grateful at 40: I was asked recently how I made it through all of this, (half has not even been told) and my answer to that is…I know for a fact that there is a GOD. When my father would say or do those things to me, I would hear this voice inside of me say, “That’s not true ” or, “Don’t believe that ” or, “You’re going to make it through this “. I didn’t know at the time what “it ” was, but today I surely have no doubt that “it ” was GOD. That voice always gave me comfort. It allowed me to hold on. It kept me from being strung out on drugs, from dying when I wanted to commit suicide. It kept me from being a gang banger or drug dealer. Worse than all of those things put together, it kept me from being him. It brought angels to comfort me after every foul, harsh word or every welt on my legs or back  GOD, only GOD.”

“To know that the little boy that I was went through all that — he went through and made it. Then me, as a man…I have to take on the responsibility of forgiving all of those people. I owe it to that little boy that I was and, more than that, I owe it to the man that I am  Think about it, as a child we have no recourse. We have nowhere to go. We have to endure it. But as adults, we have choices. I choose to forgive with all my might. Forgiveness has been my weapon of choice. It has helped to free me.”

“If you’re having a hard time getting over something in your life, maybe you can try forgiveness too. It’s not easy, but it does bring forth healing. I know that there are a lot of people out there with stories far worse than mine but you, too, can make it. To those of you who have, welcome to life. I celebrate you. We’re all PRECIOUS in His sight.”

Tyler Perry

Michelle Phillips during a Vanity Fair party (AP photo by Evan Agostini)

Mackenzie told Oprah Winfrey she had a sexual affair with her father singer John Phillips for 10 years while Michelle and John were married. 

Michelle told Vanity Fair magazine, “I’m so embarrassed and mad. At Oprah, at the publisher, and at Mackenzie, who should be on a psychiatrist’s couch, not on TV.”

“Is this all true? We’ll never know, because she waited until John was dead.  If you’re going to make these accusations and they don’t hurt anyone living, that’s one thing. But Mackenzie has affected the lives of all her nieces and nephews, who are not going to school today and are staying home sobbing instead.”

“And the book has come out just at the time that Chynna (former member of the group Wilson Phillips) has to go out on the road with her new album of Christian music.”

It’s funny how Michelle is putting all the blame on Mackenzie, and she said she’s angry with Mackenzie and Oprah.  But she never said she was angry with her ex-husband John Phillips even though he’s the one who initiated sex with his own daughter.

I thought the circumstances surround Michael Jackson’s death was going to be the craziest celebrity news story of the year. However, I was dead wrong.  Actress Mackenzie Phillips has officially won that title.  Mackenzie wrote a tell-all book about her life. 

The most disturbing part of the book was when she revealed she slept with her father the day before her wedding in 1979 at age 19.

“On the eve of my wedding, my father showed up, determined to stop it.  I had tons of pills, and Dad had tons of everything too. Eventually I passed out on Dad’s bed.”

“My father was not a man with boundaries. He was full of love, and he was sick with drugs. I woke up that night from a blackout to find myself having sex with my own father. Had this happened before? I didn’t know. All I can say is it was the first time I was aware of it. For a moment I was in my body, in that horrible truth, and then I slid back into a blackout.”

“One night Dad said, ‘We could just run away to a country where no one would look down on us. There are countries where this is an accepted practice. Maybe Fiji.  He was completely delusional. No, I thought, we’re going to hell for this.”

She also said the sexual relationship with her father lasted 10 years. 

Mackenzie Phillips’ father is the late John Phillips who was a member of the group The Mamas & the Papas whose hit songs inlcuded “California Dreamin” and “Monday, Monday.”

He fathered four other children including Chynna Phillips from the pop group Wilson Phillips and actress/singer Bijou Phillips. 

Mackenzie became famous when she starred on the television show “One Day at a Time” from 1975 to 1983.  In recent years, she appeared on “Cold Case,” “Without a Trace,” “ER” “7th Heaven” and 63 episodes of the Disney Channel show “So Weird.”

Mackenzie will reveal more details about her father and her drug use during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, which will air today (Sept. 23).

I wish Mackenzie had made the revelations to the public while her father was still alive, so he could suffer the consequences.

Part two of Whitney Houston’s interview with Oprah Winfrey aired Tuesday on ABC.

During the part two episode, Whitney spoke more about her dramatic relationship with Bobby Brown, her drug use, and when she finally decided to end her marriage. 

She discussed what her daughter felt about the drug use and physical abuse, and how her friend Michael Jackson’s death affected her.  

Her daughter Bobbi Kristina also made an appearance on the show.

Click here to view the complete transcript for part two of the interview.

Pop singer Whitney Houston appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” Monday during  the first of a two-part interview.

She discussed her drug use, her marriage to ex-husband  Bobby Brown, the physical and emotional abuse, and how she fell in love with Brown. 

While I was watching the interview, I was surprised how open and honest Whitney was.  She didn’t sugarcoat anything.  She told the truth even if it made her look bad. 

Click here to read the full transcript.  Part two of the interview will air today on ABC.

Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey will dedicate an episode of ”The Oprah Winfrey Show” to the late Michael Jackson. 

The show will feature excerpts of Winfrey’s interview with Jackson from 1993.  Winfrey will also share personal details from the interview that never aired on television, according to a press release from Harpo Productions.

The episode will air Sept. 16 on ABC.  Meanwhile, Winfrey’s two-part  interview with pop singer Whitney Houston will air Sept. 14 and Sept. 15.

Chris Brown is very disappointed with Oprah Winfrey.

Earlier this year, Oprah did a show about domestic abuse, and she said the show was inspired by the incident in which Brown beat up his girlfriend Rihanna. 

During a recent interview with People magazine, Brown said “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.’”

Oprah’s publicist later released a statement to TMZ that said “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.”

Sorry Chris.  Just because you helped Oprah in Africa, that doesn’t mean she’s going to support you after you beat up your girlfriend.