I read this story on one of my favorite blogs–Gawker.com.

The headline is catchy: Oprah fired me for talking about Jesus!

While I believe this story could be true, I’m also skeptical since its source is Kitty Kelley, the well-known biographer (of mostly famous people) with a knack for stretching the truth into best selling books.

The “me” in the story is Jo Baldwin, Oprah’s first cousin. And according to Kelley’s story at Gawker…

Shortly after Oprah Winfrey became a national sensation she hired her first cousin Jo Baldwin to be her speechwriter. Later she promoted Baldwin to VP of her company Harpo Inc.

Kelley writes that Cousin Jo was contracted to work for Oprah for three years. But by year two, Oprah fired Cousin Jo without notice. CJ told Kelley…

I heard from someone later that she got rid of me because she got tired of me talking about Jesus all the time…

And here we see a classic Kitty Kelleyism… Cousin Jo heard from someone (Who?) that she was fired for yapping about Jesus too much. Cousin Jo then goes on to tell Kelley about Oprah’s affection for Shirley MacLaine’s books.

…Oprah made me read [the books] but I didn’t think much of [them].

So Oprah is a follower of Shirley?! People actually did that? Wow…

Cousin Jo, a tenured professor at Mississippi Valley State, is also an ordained minister who preaches at two churches every Sunday, goes on to tell Kelley a whole lot more. You can read the whole story here.

Kelley ends her Gawker.com piece with this final quote from Cousin Jo…

“Mainly, Oprah wanted to shame me for being a follower of Jesus as if to say, ‘What is He doing for you that’s so great?’ Oprah inflicts emotional wounds that could lead to physical illness, if they aren’t healed. My faith has kept me from getting sick [over her].”

Again, I can believe this story. But I also suspect these types of situations happen when family and money is involved. And I’m sure Oprah has a lot of relatives out there wanting to cash in…

And too…Kelley’s biography of Oprah (Oprah: The Biography) just released in paperback and THE ABOVE story is value-added content available only in the paperback.

And I wouldn’t put it past Kelley to think: “Well, I couldn’t sell any books by telling America that Oprah is a lesbian, maybe I can sell a few paperbacks by getting them to believe that she hates Jesus!”

Or…

…perhaps Oprah hates Jesus. Or maybe Cousin Jo talks about Jesus like the fundamentalists I grew up with (was she payed for the story?)

And perhaps if I was a follower of Shirley, I might have fired Cousin Jo too (especially if I was Oprah!)

Again… it’s Kitty Kelley… so you never quite know what/who to trust… you just know she’ll do anything to sell more books.

Thoughts?