Oprah Winfrey is having a really bad month. First there was the horrible abuse scandal at her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy and now she's facing a tell-all book
from a former employee.
Last year, Keifer Bonvillain was hit with a federal extortion charge after he allegedly tried to sell Winfrey audiotapes for $1.5 million of a high-ranking Harpo employee bad-mouthing her. But the charge didn't hold up in an Illinois court.
Now Bonvillain, 37, who touts himself as a Louisiana-born "civil-rights activist," has launched a Web site in a bid to get a publisher for his exposé, titled "Ruthless."
His breathless pitch reads: "An office manager at Harpo broke his silence and his confidentiality agreement when he spoke freely about Oprah Winfrey's private life and business affairs. Keifer Bonvillain underestimated one of the world's most powerful women when he, armed with clandestinely recorded tapes, decided to write a 'tell-all' book unmasking the famed celebrity. Within days of Harpo learning about the book, two men were attempting to break into Keifer's home - presumably to get the tapes. Oprah was desperate to keep the truth from being revealed . . . The fallout was Keifer's highly publicized arrest."
Bonvillain vows to disclose that Harpo may have been involved in "blatant discrimination . . . This CEO not only knows about these practices . . . she condones them . . . Hours of taped conversations . . . reveal what they don't want the public to know about [Oprah's] private life, and a business that prides itself on its diversity."
When you're a billionaire, you're bound to face a few nasty tell-all books. It's just part of the celebrity billionaire lifestyle. And as for this guy Bonvillain, he sounds pretty sketchy to us.
