Oprah Winfrey will be starring in a Philadelphia court room in the next few weeks — facing the former headmistress she fired from her exclusive girls school in South Africa after a student sex-abuse scandal.
A federal judge refused yesterday to throw out a defamation lawsuit filed by Nomvuyo Mzamane, who Oprah handpicked to run the school in 2007, against the queen of daytime TV and ordered the trial to begin later this month.
Mzamane was caught up in a widely-reported sex-abuse scandal at Winfrey’s $40-million Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. She was the headmistress at the time a school dorm matron and several students were accused of taking advantage of other students.
The matron, Tiny Virginia Makopo, was charged with sexually assaulting six girls and is on trial in South Africa.
Following an investigation by private detectives, Winfrey suspended Mzamane and told parents and the media that she had “lost confidence” in the headmistress and was “cleaning house from top to bottom.”
The suit charged that Oprah suggested Mzamane had been aware of the mistreatment and ignored it.
Since her dismissal, Mzamane has not been able to find a job in education, her lawyers claim.
Prior to being signed by Winfrey to run the South African school, she was the assistant head of operations at Philadelphia’s prestigious Germantown Friends School. She is seeking more than $250,000 in damages.
Winfrey, who is named as a defendant along with her Harpo Productions, is likely to be called as a witness during the trial, which is expected to take two weeks. She has rearranged her production schedule to accommodate the trial.
Winfrey’s lawyers argued the talk-show host’s statements were merely an opinion that she could not be sued for — but the judge said that would be up to the jury to decide.
“Oprah and Harpo await the opportunity to present the case in court,” said lawyer Chip Babcock on behalf of his clients Winfrey and Harpo.
This is second time the talk show host has landed in court for criticizing someone publicly. An Amarillo, Texas-based beef processor sued her in 1998 over statements she made during an episode of “Oprah” on mad-cow disease two years earlier,
Winfrey hired jury consulting firm Courtroom Sciences Inc. — co-founded by Dr. Phil McGraw — to help her prep for the two-month-long trial.
When the jury found in her favor, Winfrey credited Dr. Phil with her success and invited him to appear as a guest on her show. She then made him her relationship and life strategy expert and gave him a regular weekly segment.