Oprah Winfrey To Face Trial In Defamation Case

by Yuliya Talmazan | March 16, 2010 at 02:24 pm

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Oprah Winfrey To Stand Trial

TV diva Oprah Winfrey will stand jury trial that begins March 29 in Philadelphia in connection to the defamation charges she faces from Nomvuyo Mzamane, a former headmistress of Oprah's girls' school in South Africa.

In 2007, it came to Oprah's attention that there have been complaints of sexual abuse at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy that the TV diva runs near Johannesburg. Dorm matron Tiny Virginia Makopo was charged with abusing six students. Mzamane was in charge when the alleged abuses happened. A victim of sexual abuse herself, Oprah made strong comments about the alleged abuse and the people who allowed it to happen in a meeting with parents and at a press conference after allegations of abuse surfaced.

Mzamane accused Winfrey of suggesting she was not trustworthy through comments about the need for new leadership and remarks such as "I thought she cared about the girls of South Africa," according to the October 2008 lawsuit.

Mzamane says Oprah defamed her in the remarks that she gave after the incident, saying she "lost confidence" in Mzamane. The former headmistress says she could not find work ever since being let go from the Academy because of Oprah's remarks.

U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno decided Oprah's remarks were "capable of defamatory meaning" and ruled that Winfrey should stand jury trial. He also said Mzamane had enough evidence to pursue her claim. Winfrey's lawyers previously tried to prove that their defendant's remarks were a statement of opinion.

Winfrey invested $40 million in the school that opened in 2007 and currently hosts over 150 female students.