Oprah Winfrey suit reaches settlement
Winfrey, plaintiff met, resolved claims
PHILADELPHIA – Oprah Winfrey has settled a defamation lawsuit filed by a headmistress she had accused of performing poorly at her South African girls school, where some students claimed they were abused, lawyers said Tuesday.
The lawsuit by former headmistress Nomvuyo Mzamane claimed Winfrey defamed her in remarks made in the wake of the 2007 sex-abuse scandal at the school. Mzamane said she had trouble finding a job after Winfrey stated she had “lost confidence” in her and was “cleaning house from top to bottom.”
A trial had been set to start next week in federal court in Philadelphia.
A joint statement released late Tuesday by lawyers for both sides said Winfrey and Mzamane met to resolve their differences.
The parties do not plan to discuss terms of the settlement, according to a spokeswoman who works with Winfrey’s production company, Harpo Productions.
A dorm matron at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls has been charged in South Africa with abusing six students. The dorm matron, Tiny Virginia Makopo, has pleaded not guilty to 14 charges.
Mzamane claimed that she was never told of the sexual abuse. However, Winfrey’s lawyers said in a pretrial memo this month that Mzamane failed to discipline Makopo despite her history of run-ins with students and fellow staff.