Oprah apologizes to parents at South African girls' school  
Monday, October 29th, 2007

I love Oprah.  I don't think that she has a bad bone in her body, honestly.  O issued an apology to parents and students at her girls' school in South Africa, after allegations of abuse surfaced.

A member of the staff was removed from Oprah's $46 million Johannesburg school by child protection officers this month after claims of misconduct.

It is being investigated by South African police and U.S. investigators.

"I've disappointed you.  I'm so sorry.  I'm so sorry," Winfrey told families that showed up for an emergency meeting at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.

It's not your fault, O!  There is a bad apple on every tree.  Even if you shake the tree, the bad apple doesn't always fall out.  It's not Oprah's responsibility to apologize for someone else's misconduct, but she did it anyways, because she cares!

It's also been reported that O gave the students her personal phone number and e-mail address in the U.S. if they ever needed to get in touch with her.

Oprah fulfilled a promise that she made to former President Nelson Mandela years ago when she opened the academy last year:  she gave more than 150 poor South African girls a chance.

"When I first started making a lot of money," Oprah said, "I really became frustrated with the fact that all I did was write check after check to this or that charity without feeling like it was a part of me...at a certain point, you want to feel that connection."

The academy offers 152 girls, aged 11-12, state-of-the-art classrooms, computer and science labs, a library, a theater, and a wellness center.

   

More News >>