Oprah Winfrey, who has been rocked by scandal surrounding her Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa since it first opened in 2007, has adverted the latest crisis from going any further, E!Online is reporting. The talk show queen has settled the defamation suit former headmistress Lerato Numvoyo Mzamane filed against her.
The two personally meet with each other, and settled the suit out-of-court. The lawyers for the two released a joint statement following the meeting, saying “They are happy that they could resolve this dispute peacefully to their mutual satisfaction.”
After being fired from the academy, which is located in Johannesburg, during allegations that a dorm matron abused some of the girls, Mzamane sued Winfrey. Mzamane filed a $250,000 lawsuit against Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, which produces such shows as ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ and ‘The Rachel Ray Show.” The former headmistress claimed the media giant ruined her reputation, specifically during a press conference addressing the scandal.
In the lawyers’ statement, it claimed Winfrey “did not intend” any implications toward Mzamane. The statement also said the former headmistress found that Winfrey did not knowingly make a false statement.
Written by: Karen Benardello
