The Secret Oprah Won't Give Up

WHOSE SECRET IS THIS?! Winfrey, Byrne

Does Oprah want to keep new age cash cow The Secret for herself? As the large number of white, homebound, female viewers of Winfrey's daytime TV show will attest, Harpo's head harpy has sunk her claws into producer and author Rhonda Byrne's book and life system—a grab bag of wish-fulfilling lies. And she's not letting go.

"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.