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< BACK TO Fresh Intelligence The Secret Oprah Won't Give Up![]() WHOSE SECRET IS THIS?! Winfrey, Byrne "Basically, Oprah is about to take over," a knowledgeable source tells Radar. "She and Rhonda Byrne are BFFs." Winfrey's Harpo Productions, the source says, is working to lock up Byrne and fellow Secreteers Michael Beckwith, James Ray, and Jack Canfield for regular appearances on Oprah's show and to develop new daytime TV shows and even a prime-time special out of the positive-thinking program. Accordingly, the source says, Byrne has been begging off media appearances in anticipation of becoming Harpo's in-house guru. When Winfrey first had Byrne and her gang of new age hucksters on the show last month, the host was noticeably angry and defensive about the author's failure to pick up on her audience's loneliness, desperation, and willingness to shell out $29.95 for schlock. "I've known The Secret—I didn't call it "The Secret"—for years," Winfrey said. "And for years on this show, this is what I've been trying to do, is to get people to see it." Winfrey's endorsement firmly solidified Byrne's book on the New York Times best-seller list, launched it and the accompanying DVD as a cultural phenomenon, and made Byrne a wealthy woman. Naturally, says the source, Oprah wants her piece of the Secret pie. A spokeswoman for Harpo firmly denies that a deal is in the works—"There is not a partnering with The Secret and Rhonda Byrne," she says—and an executive at ABC, where Harpo has two new reality shows slated to debut next season, says no one at Harpo has pitched ABC on a prime-time special based on The Secret. Byrne's personal publicist John Stellar did not return repeated phone calls or waves of positive energy sent in his direction. Photo: Getty Images Because of the huge interest in "The Secret", I have opened up a website designed to demystify the teaching. There are downloadable articles, which will be added to over the next few weeks. If your looking for a critique of this phenomenon please visit: Jay Howard Posted by: jay howard on March 29, 2007 12:21 PM Thanks for this article. Whenever I think I am alone, I never am. Posted by: juliettewhitney on April 3, 2007 10:31 AM Advertisement |
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