As America’s best known chat show host Oprah Winfrey has counseled dozens of people on her couch. But the multimillionaire is facing problems of her own after becoming embroiled in a bitter row with her stepmother….Barbara
Winfrey, who is married to Oprah’s father Vernon, has accused the
billionaire chat show host of forcing her out of her husband’s life.
She claims Oprah has used her fortune to take control of the barber shop Vernon Winfrey has run for more than 50 years.
And
now the 78-year-old has filed for divorce as the row over ownership of
the barbershop threatens to tear apart the Winfrey family.
The store in Nashville, Tennessee, was bought by Oprah last week after going into foreclosure.
She paid $475,000 for the property when it was put up for auction.
Barbara
Winfrey said the purchase means the chat show host, who now runs her
own YV network, has gained control of the business and cut her out.
‘I know what is going on. I’m tired of it, and I’ve had enough,’ Barbara Winfrey told WSMV TV in Nashville.
But the couple apparently fell behind on their mortgage payments and the red brick building went into foreclosure.
Barbara
said she wanted to borrow more money from a bank but that on advice
from his famous daughter Vernon refused to take out a loan.
‘People
are giving him wrong advice, and it’s leaving me in a situation where
all I can do is fight for me,’ Barbara Winfrey said.
‘There
is no reason for it to go into foreclosure like this. The property is
upside down, which is what a lot of properties are. It cost us $481,000
to build this building, but it’s only worth $350,000.’
Barbara told the local media that Oprah was controlling her father.
In a statement to the TV station a spokesman for Oprah said: ‘Oprah purchased the property that was in foreclosure.
‘Vernon Winfrey has been a fixture in the community for decades and will continue to manage the business on a day-to-day basis.’
Barbara said that her husband has since filed for divorce and believes he does not understand the decisions he is making.
In
a telephone call to the TV station Vernon said: ‘My wife and I, we have
not been getting along well, and I did not want to endow myself to
another drawn-out, struggling debt.’
Vernon, a former town council official, has run a barbershop in East Nashville for 50 years.
He moved from the old premises in 2011 and the new salon had a boxing theme.
At the opening of the new barber shop Vernon said the premises would be his legacy to the community.
‘When I’m gone, I’m glad I’ll be able to say I left the neighborhood looking nice,’ Winfrey said.
He said his daughter had urged him to give up cutting hair, but he planned to continue.
‘Some folks say, “Winfrey, you’re kind of old to be doing it.” I say, “You’re right, but I feel good,”’ he said.
Vernon said his famous daughter wanted him to retire.
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Na jealousy dey worry the step mother.