• Oprah will finally sit down with Sarah Palin on the Nov. 16 episode of her talk show. [What an awesome birthday present!—Editor] [TrèsSugar]—This is quite possibly the showdown of the century.
• “Real Housewife” Bethenny Frankel, who got engaged recently, admits she’s pregnant after internet rumors started to spread. [NYDailyNews.com]—Lesson learned: no matter what, you can never outrun the internet.
• Beer pong: the swine flu’s latest victim. A New York college has banned the playing of beer pong after several students contracted H1N1 during a weekend of partying. [Lemondrop]

Today’s episode of “Oprah” was both upsetting and inspiring. The five women in the clip above all contracted HIV from the same man—their boyfriend, Philippe Padieu, who was secretly wooing (and sleeping with) all of them (and then some!) at the same time. He knew he had HIV, yet didn’t tell any of them. Little did he know what they would do when they found out. The women banded together to warn others being seduced by Padieu’s charms and then went to the police. He was eventually sentenced to 45 years in prison. Kick. Ass. [Oprah]

Here’s a doozy of a celebrity lawsuit for you. Corrine Gehrls was a flight attendant on Oprah’s private jet, until she was fired in June. Apparently, a second flight attendant and Oprah’s goddaughter told the Big O that Corrine had sex with pilot Terry Pansing during a flight, and Oprah was not amused. Now, Gehrls is suing for $75,000, saying that the accusations are totally false and that she’s been defamed. The crux of her case are polygraph tests from both her and this pilot saying that they never bumped pelvises on duty. Oprah has a grand tradition of beating every lawsuit that comes her way—lord knows she can afford the lawyer bills—so do you think Gehrls has a chance on this? [Reuters]

It’s the middle of the week, your boss totally hates you (he/she’s such a jerk!), you forgot to Tivo “90210” last night, and the coffee machine is broken again. Your life totally sucks. Fear not! You will forget all the drama of your stress-infused life once you get a load of this week’s tabloid stories. After the jump, we’ve compiled all the questionable headlines from this week’s crop of ‘bloids, so you can impress your water cooler friends and distract yourself from the follies of hump day.

As a longtime worshiper at the temple of O, I have recently been questioning Oprah’s street cred. Is the talk show queen really slipping in popularity, as her seven-point Nielsen rating drop suggested? As soon as her 23rd season (yes, believe it) began, I got my answer … hell no! Fresh off tell-all interviews with Erin Andrews, and THE Whitney Houston, Oprah is back with a bang this season, proving that she is still the high priestess of hip. What’s in store for the eager viewers of America like me?

Oprah knows how to start a season right. Her interview with Whitney Houston yesterday (the second part airs today!) was even better than the season premiere in 2004 when every audience member left with a new car. Rather than interview Whitney in front of an audience, Oprah sat down to chat with her in an empty auditorium, which was a little awkward, but once Whitney started talking, you didn’t notice anymore. “[Bobby] was my drug,” she said. “I didn’t do anything without him. I wasn’t getting high by myself. It was me and him together, and we were partners, and that’s what my high was—him.”

In addition to describing their drug of choice, she also revealed what we all suspected—that there was physical abuse in the relationship. “He slapped me once, but he got hit on the head three times by me,” she said. Her daughter walked in the room just in time to see Bobby on the floor bleeding. And in the clip above, Whitney talked about her mother coming to her house with the police to force her into rehab. “She said, ‘I’m not losing you to the world. I’m not losing you to Satan. I want my daughter back.’ She said, ‘If you move, Bobby, they’re gonna take you down.’ ”

When ESPN reporter Erin Andrews learned in July some perverted peeping Tom had videotaped her naked through a peephole in her hotel room, she did what any of us would do: she called her parents screaming. Andrews told Oprah Winfrey about her ordeal on this afternoon’s show:

“Having to call my parents and they—they thought I was physically injured how bad I was screaming…I kept screaming [to my father], ‘I’m done. My career is over. I’m done. Get it off. Get it off the Internet. Get it off.’”

You know what Oprah wants for Christmas? Well, besides world peace, chocolate that makes you lose weight, and copies of The Secret for everyone in the universe? She is jonesing to interview Jaycee Lee Dugard, who returned home a week and a half ago after being kidnapped and held captive for 18 years. “I want that interview,” Oprah told “The Insider.” “Obviously, like everybody else in this business, I have ‘my people’ working on that. It’s the first time I have ever called up a producer and said, ‘Are we on this story? Because I want that interview!’” [Celebitchy]

Boo hoo. Chris Brown is upset that, soon after the night when he pummeled Rihanna, Oprah did an episode of her show on domestic violence and dedicated it “to all the Rihannas of the world.” During the episode, Oprah said, “I’ve said before love doesn’t hurt, and if a man hits you once, he will hit you again.”

Chris thinks this was harsh. “I commend Oprah on being like, ‘This is a problem,’ but it was a slap in my face,” he told People. “I did a lot of stuff for her, like going to Africa and performing for her school. She could’ve been more helpful, like, ‘OK, I’m going to help both of these people out.’”

Will Smith and his TMI-spewing wife recently fired the headmaster of their private school. Allegedly, the educational feud with Jacqueline Olivier was over the curriculum for a “Study Technology” class at the New Village Leadership Academy. Will and Jada have denied that the school is all about Scientology, but the word is that Olivier wanted to do some tinkering with the course, even though it was designed by L. Ron Hubbard, which wasn’t cool with Will and Jada. Guess they’ll have to find a new headmaster to teach their kids science fiction?

But wait a second. Let’s back up. Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have a school? And they aren’t the only ones. [NY Daily News]

With Chris Brown finally offering a public apology for letting his temper get the best of him and striking ex-girlfriend Rihanna, what’s the next stop on his “I’m Sorry” tour? Could it be a seat on Oprah Winfrey’s couch? That’s the word. It’s rumored that Chris Brown’s camp is in negotiations with The Oprah Winfrey Show about making an appearance on the Goddess of the Universe’s talk show. Only there’s one catch: Breezy doesn’t want to talk about the specifics of what happened between he and Rihanna the night he reportedly beat her. However, it seems Oprah’s people have popped back and made it clear that they don’t want anything on the table. With respect to all of you teeny boppers who throw your training bras at Chris in concert, it doesn’t compare to the power of Oprah’s legion of fans. If Chris wants to go back to pop locking for Doublemint gum, I’d sit on the couch, cry and let Oprah verbally spank me. Continue reading...

When I heard about an Oprah comic book, I snickered. Not the classiest reaction ever, but I thought it was kinda funny that Oprah had sort of already conquered the world, but now was going to be illustrated doing so in a cape. While I still think a caped crusader-style Oprah would be nifty, it turns out I got my original facts wrong. Oprah does not, in fact, star in her own comic book series, but is the cover girl of the comic book series “Female Force” September issue.

M.I.A. knows how to make some noise. At Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People party, the singer sauntered up to Oprah and asked her to help galang-a-lang-a-lang the government sanctioned bombings of civilians in her motherland, Sri Lanka. [Radar] — Oprah, help a woman out!

Oprah’s interview with Elizabeth Edwards has aired, and Elizabeth came across as poised and loving, especially considering all she has dealt with and is still going through. On the show, Elizabeth told Oprah she found out about John’s affair a few days after he announced his intent to run for the presidency. When he first told her, he said it had happened once. Then, a year and a half later, he told her the rest of the story. The two are still working to redevelop their trust.

Among the other topics Elizabeth and Oprah discussed were her fight against cancer, how women need to respect other, and how John and she are working on their marriage. When Oprah asked whether she’s still in love with John, Elizabeth said, “... I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t in love with him.” After the jump, another clip from the show.

Funny lady Jenny McCarthy has inked a multi-year, multi-platform deal with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions. The projects include a syndicated talk show and a blog on Oprah.com, which Jenny launched last Friday, discussing PMS and sugar. Rachael Ray and Dr. Phil became household names after making frequent appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and signing deals with Harpo, so the chances of Jenny becoming another Oprah protege-turned-TV mogul are high. She’s discussed her struggles with her son’s autism and published several books, including Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism and Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds. Jenny, a former Playboy model who hosted MTV’s “Singled Out” in the ‘90s, seems like an unlikely choice for Oprah. Would you watch a talk show hosted by Jenny McCarthy? [The Hollywood Reporter]

Kirstie Alley was a hot mess on Oprah yesterday, dishing about her “humiliating” weight gain after she appeared on the show in 2006 in a bikini. She told Oprah that her weight started ballooning after she moved her gym equipment into her garage and turned the empty space into a dining room. Hmm ... Maybe not the smartest move, Kirstie. When asked how she felt after seeing Valerie Bertinelli, Kirstie’s replacement as a Jenny Craig celebrity spokesperson, in a bikini on the cover of People a few weeks ago, Kirstie responded that she was inspired to lose weight and beat her. Oprah reminded her that being in shape isn’t a competition, and Kirstie replied: “That’s what people say when they’re gaining weight.” She also told Oprah that she has created her own weight loss program and has lost 20 pounds in the last five weeks. Opes was understandably skeptical and said, “Twenty pounds in five weeks? How did you do that?” To which Kirstie replied with a smirk, “I’ll tell you later.” Oprah, I’m sure, can’t wait to hear all about it. When Kirstie announced that she plans to be in ripped shape by November, just six months from now, Oprah looked her up and down and said she couldn’t let her make an announcement like that on national TV. “OK, fine,” Kirstie replied, “February, then.” (And, of course, you can follow her success on Twitter). So, there you have it, folks. Expect a major weight loss to coincide with the launch of Kirstie’s new magical program sometime early next year. Yo-yo dieting: it’s not a PR move, it’s a lifestyle.

Supposedly, Rihanna can’t decide whether to take Chris Brown back after he allegedly beat the crap out of her in February, so she has reportedly demanded he publicly apologize to her on “Oprah.” Rihanna has been talking to Oprah Winfrey on a regular basis since the media mogul cautioned the singer against reconciling with Chris. But a public apology really won’t help Rihanna make up her mind because either she believes he’s remorseful or not. This just sounds like a bad idea for all three parties involved.