Man Attempts To Blackmail Oprah

January 8, 2007 - Oprah Winfrey

Nobody messes with Lady O, or if they do, they'll wish they never tried outsmarting prima billionaire.

Believe it or not, Oprah has been the target of an attempted blackmail plot.

Atlanta man Keifer Bonvillain will appear in federal court on Monday charged with trying to extort $1.5 million from the talk show queen by threatening to sell tapes he made of calls between one of Oprah's employees and himself.

Bonvillain was arrested on December 15 after the employee - who considered the 36-year-old a friend and began moaning about her boss, Oprah, during long phone calls - turned to the police.

According to the FBI, Bonvillain sent a letter to the employee in November stating he had tapes of their conversations and that he wanted to publish a book based on the recordings.

In the police report, Bonvillain said, "There are a lot of people who would want these."

It is also claimed he mentioned offers of $500,000 to $3 million he had received from tabloids and book publishers.

Oprah has made no comment, but Bonvillain told the Chicago Sun Times newspaper, "There is nothing to it. It's nothing. It was a big mix-up."

Meanwhile, Oprah publicly took an HIV test in South Africa on Saturday to raise AIDS awareness. The 52-year-old star - who has just opened the $40 million Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in the country - also promised the 152 students at her new school free AIDS testing, counseling and treatment, if necessary.

She said, "To be a great leader you must be of sound mind, body and spirit. Part of leadership is having the courage to demonstrate true action. Today I have taken the test to demonstrate why it's so important."

Miss O's test results will be kept confidential, as will those of the students. Taking an AIDS test is not compulsory for students, and results will not affect their participation at the school.

An estimated 5.4 million of South Africa's 48 million population are infected with the AIDS virus.