Kitty Kelly's biography of Oprah
Winfrey adds new fuel to rumors that the talk show star is gay.
Oprah: A Biography will hit
store shelves on April 13.
Kelly says her 544-page book is the
result of over 850 interviews over three years. And is the “first
comprehensive biography of one of the most influential, powerful, and
admired public figures of our times.”
“Readers will come away with a greater
appreciation of who Oprah really is beyond her public persona and
fuller understanding of her important place in American cultural
history,” the book's description says.
Exclusive excerpts published Sunday by
USA Today reveal Kelly's book will feature celebrities
commenting on whether Winfrey and best friend Gayle King are a
couple.
“I think they are the emotional
equivalent of a gay couple,” openly lesbian Rosie O'Donnell is
quoted saying during an October 2009 The Howard Stern Show.
“When they did that road trip together that's as gay as it gets and
I don't mean it to be an insult either. I'm just saying listen, if
you ask me that's a gay couple.”
“I would not be surprised is Oprah is
gay,” long-time friend and author Erica Jong says. “If she is,
she is. It certainly fits.”
“[Oprah boyfriend] Stedman is
probably gay or neutral, but they have a bond,” Jong adds. “Her
being gay would be the right reaction to the sexual abuse she says
she's suffered and the mistrust she's always had of men.”
Oprah: A Biography is being
published by Crown.