Oprah_ A Biography - Kitty Kelley [3]
Since 1995 Oprah has required all her employees at Harpo and later at O, The Oprah Magazine, to sign confidentiality agreements, swearing never to reveal anything about her, her business, her personal life, her friends, or her associates to anyone at any time. Almost everyone who enters her realm must sign these nondisclosure contracts, and the prospect of being sued for breaking them keeps many—but not all—people silent. Surprisingly, I discovered that Oprah is as frightened of the unvarnished truths from the lips of her former employees as they are of her potential lawsuits.
Aside from those chained to confidentiality agreements, there were others afraid to talk simply for fear of offending someone famous, much like those who admired the fabled emperor’s new clothes. This, too, was not unusual, except among journalists, normally as brave as marines and supposedly immune to celebrity worship. Considering that Oprah is the gold standard for marketing, a certain amount of hesitancy is understandable on the part of anyone who wants to sell products on her show, including journalists who long to write books that she will bless. When I called Jonathan Van Meter to ask about the effusive cover story he had written on Oprah for Vogue, he said, “I just can’t talk to you … yeah, maybe I am scared … it just wouldn’t help me to help you.” He admitted—reluctantly—that he had put “all the negative bits” from his Vogue research into a profile of Oprah he later published in The Oxford American. “Not much circulation there,” he said nervously.
When I called Jura Koncius of The Washington Post, she said, “I knew Oprah before she was Oprah, when she wore an Afro.… Every year at Christmas she would send a limo to get me to come on her Baltimore show to talk about holiday gifts … but I don’t want to discuss my experiences, and I certainly don’t want to be included in your long list of acknowledgments.” Duly noted, Ms. Koncius.
My researcher received an even more heated response from Erin Moriarty of CBS-TV, who had roomed with Oprah for a couple of months in Baltimore. Since then Ms. Moriarty has regaled friends with her tales of Oprah during that time, and after hearing all those stories from others, I requested an interview. Unwilling to go on the record, Ms. Moriarty was less than cordial when she learned that her Oprah stories had traveled so far and wide.
I saw the full force of Oprah’s power and influence upon publication in April 2010, when some in the mainstream media boycotted this book. Larry King barred me from his CNN talk show because he did not want to offend Oprah. Joy Behar also closed the door, as did Barbara Walters, who went on The View to denounce unauthorized biographies, particularly this one, as simply “trying to get dirt.” Since she had not read the book, I sent her a copy with a letter expressing disappointment in her public denunciation. She never responded. At the time she was negotiating with ABC for The View to be syndicated in the 4 P.M. time slot of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011 when Oprah retired from broadcast television. ABC refused to syndicate Ms. Walters’s show, which she acknowledged lost her millions of dollars.
Biographies, whether authorized or unauthorized, could never be written without the help of journalists, which is why I reached out to so many. Their work provides the first draft of history and lays the foundation for future scholars and historians. So I am grateful for the generosity I received, especially in Chicago, where journalists have been covering Oprah for twenty-five years and know her well. I also appreciate those too frightened to help, because their fears underscored the effect that Oprah has had