It's been a bad week for fake memoirists. The other day, Margaret B. Jones' “memoir” about her troubled youth as a drug runner in South Central L.A., Love and Consequences, was exposed as pure fiction.

It seems that Jones is actually Margaret Seltzer — a privileged, white Valley Girl who never lost foster brothers to gang violence or purchased a burial plot with drug money. Oops.

Days earlier, Misha Defonseca's 1997 memoir, Misha: A Mémoire of the Hollocaust Years, was unmasked as a fiction.

Defonseca's story was even more outrageous than Seltzer's tale of urban gang life. She claimed that as a Jewish Belgian child, she traveled 1,900 miles in search of her deported parents. Along the way, she killed a Nazi soldier, ended up in the Warsaw Ghetto and was adopted by a pack of wolves. As it turns out, she did survive the arrest and murder of her parents by Nazis, but she never left Belgium, never killed any soldiers and was never adopted by wolves. Oh, and she's not Jewish.

Now, I generally try to avoid giving unsolicited advice, but I'm going to break that rule here: If you're ever inclined to write an inspirational memoir about your life, base it on your actual life. If you'd rather make it all up, call it fiction. I think that's good advice. And here are my reasons why.

1. You will probably get caught. … continue reading

Let me see; we've got ABC, CBS, NBC and ... Oprah? OK, she's not quite there yet with the big shots, but she is getting closer. Oprah Winfrey now owns her own television network. Yep, she owns OWN. Hot damn. How about that! Pretty amazing for any one person, but especially amazing for an African American, a woman, and one with Winfrey's early childhood story and experiences.

And her new television network is going to be classic Oprah. The programming will focus on relationship issues, raising children, exposing people to healthier life choices, weight issues and financial issues — basically, her network will deal with subjects that everyday people living everyday lives have been tuning in to her talk show to see for years. Now the subjects will get expanded coverage in a range of shows and programs. Oddly enough, Oprah herself won't be seen all that much on the network because her talk show (including reruns) is under a very exclusive contract until 2011. So Oprah won't be on Oprah — I mean, on OWN. In a way, that's probably better. She will continue to be on much more highly profiled stations, and it's through that visibility that she's gained the exposure to now have her own network.

Friends and I often joke that Oprah is taking over the world. Winfrey is the queen of media with her show, her website, her production company, her magazine, her satellite radio station and now the network. Of course, world domination by a single individual is usually cause for great alarm, but for some reason, rather than recoil in horror at Oprah's media acquisitions and increasing influence, I tend to greet it all with applause. … continue reading

It's January. Election Day is ten months away. Yet the campaign has been underway for several months already. And as expected, I am already bored with it. I have no idea who I will vote for come November, and I likely won't know until I actually cast my vote behind the little curtain of my portable voting booth. What I do know is that the face of Chuck Norris was grinning at me from behind Mike Huckabee when he congratulated himself on a victory in the Iowa caucuses last week. And I asked myself, "What the hell is Chuck Norris doing in Iowa? And why does he look like a life-sized plastic cutout of himself?"

I'm guessing you may be asking yourself a similar question right now. Namely, what the hell does this have to do with women in entertainment? Well, Chuck Norris' plastic mug got me thinking about the role of celebrity in politics. Politics is one big popularity contest, after all, the likes of which many of us dreaded in junior high. So, does having a celebrity by your side actually get you anywhere in politics? Actually being a celebrity worked well for Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. But does having the vocal support of Oprah Winfrey and Halle Berry actually do anything for Barack Obama come election day?

There has to be something to this celebrity endorsement thing, right? It's not like Obama is the only one with big name celebs lining up to offer support, usually in the form of money and publicity, which inevitably generates more money, which may or may not win someone the White House. Rudy Giuliani has the support of some 1970s pinup girls in the form of Bo Derek and Cheryl Ladd. No word on whether the rest of the angels view him as a perfect 10 or not. … continue reading

Presidential candidates are just like us! They like to sack out in front of the TV with a bag of Cheetos and the remote, too. Or, well, so they told TV Guide earlier this month. Several of the top presidential contenders, both Democratic and Republican, shared their tube-time schedules. The answers weren't too surprising. Familiar favorites, family fare and the like. So in the interest of broadening their horizons, I've compiled a list of their current TV habits and shows they should consider checking out. I consider it my patriotic duty to get them matched up with the right programs.

Hillary Clinton

Does Watch: HGTV makeover shows, American Idol, Grey's Anatomy, Dancing With the Stars and her all-time TV favorite, The Ed Sullivan Show.

Should Watch: Wonder Woman. Breaking glass ceilings and traveling in glass jets. It's the perfect preparation for a spin on Air Force One — again. Plus, what president couldn't use that Golden Lasso? … continue reading

I really like my Entertainment Weekly subscription. It was a total suckered-in kind of thing. I got the “free trial” that I was going to cancel before the not-free period began. Right. But I enjoy the magazine, and I particularly appreciate the subscription when I learn of fun things — such as the Entertainment Weeky/TV Land special The 50 Greatest TV Icons, scheduled to air this Friday night.

I'll be out of town on Friday night, but my DVR is already set. I love me some TV and I want to know who is crowned the Greatest TV Icon of all time. I know who I'd pick: Kermit the Frog.

Unfortunately, I suspect that Kermit will not be number one because he's pictured in the listing in the magazine. Where would the suspense be then?

But let's watch a video of TV icon Kermit singing his iconic song, “The Rainbow Connection,” with punk icon Debbie Harry — just because it's fun. … continue reading

"What if the freedom to be yourself all came down to where you live?" That's what Oprah asked in her "Gay Around the World" episode on Oct. 24. She said gays and lesbians are in the midst of a "global civil rights revolution," citing Dumbledore's recent outing as an example of change for the better. She also provided a summary of global laws and severe punishments, such as stoning and beheading. And she touched on the state of U.S. issues, including gay marriage, adoption, workplace discrimination and "don't ask, don't tell."

The first segment of the show concerned an Indian prince, Manvendra Singh Gohil of Rajpipla. He faced family shame and public outrage when he came out. He still lives in a palace, but he has struggled with mental health issues — though he says he has no regrets. Hang in there, Prince Manvendra! Your turban is downright fabulous.

The second segment of the show focused on Staceyann Chin, who was born in Jamaica and now lives in New York City.

In Jamaica, gays and lesbians are targeted by mobs and fear for their safety daily. Staceyann described the homophobic culture of her childhood, including the brutal sexual assault she suffered. You can read more of Staceyann's story on Oprah's website. And here's her segment: … continue reading

No, this is not a lame Oprah/Gayle joke (even though those often make me giggle). On Wednesday, The Oprah Winfrey Show offers a very special live episode. Here's a press blurb:

Tune in LIVE on Wednesday, October 24 when The Oprah Winfrey Show travels the globe for a look into the lives of gays and lesbians in the U.S. and worldwide. Go behind the headlines to see the secret lives of gays in Iran. Meet an Indian prince whose coming out caused a controversy in his homeland. Plus, meet inspiring gay couples and families from around the world.

You can watch a preview on the show's official website. In that clip, you'll see that Staceyann Chin will be one of the guests. Sounds intriguing and definitely worth DVRing!

Check the blog tomorrow to see how it all plays out when Oprah says, "Thanks for the show idea, Ahmadinejad!"

Sinéad O’Connor on Oprah? No, this is not a Saturday Night Live sketch. Instead it’s a rare American television appearance for the Irish songstress. Today on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Sinéad will talk for the first time about her struggles with bipolar disorder. Her appearance comes almost 15 years to the day of her controversial SNL performance. Life has a strange symmetry sometimes.

From the first moment I heard Sinéad tear into the heartache of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” I knew I’d stumbled across something strange and wonderful. And over the years she has straddled that line between strange and wonderful, often hopscotching between the two. But always there was her voice, that clear and resonate instrument of her truth. Man, that woman can sing.

… continue reading

Of course, that same voice made her a lightning rod for controversy.

It's Friday, and the lists keep coming. As Dorothy Snarker wrote yesterday, "You know you can't resist them and, clearly, neither can I. So let's put on our yelling caps and take a look at this puppy." Today we have the annual Forbes Celebrity 100, a list of "the world's most powerful--and best-paid--celebrities." Who's No. 1? Oprah Winfrey.

Worth an estimated $1.5 billion, last year Oprah earned approximately $260 million. She has two reality shows in ABC's fall lineup in addition to her many other media ventures, and you may remember that this past year she opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Oprah has often been a friend to the gays, too. Long dogged by rumors that she is a lesbian, she has never flinched from openly addressing the subject. And her talk show has covered lesbian and gay stories over the years, including "When I Knew I Was Gay" in November 2005 and "Wives Who Confess They Are Gay" in October 2006. … continue reading

The 34th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards airs tonight at 9 P.M. on CBS. Since I’m not a soap watcher, I’m not sure I can sit through two whole hours of categories such as Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series and Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing for a Drama Series.

Luckily, there are a couple of categories that are of broader interest, namely Outstanding Talk Show and Outstanding Talk Show Host. Nominated in the former class are Dr. Phil, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Rachael Ray, The Tyra Banks Show and The View; the latter nominees are Dr. Phil, Ellen DeGeneres, Rachael Ray, Tyra Banks, Lisa Rinna and Ty Treadway (Soap Talk), and all of the ladies from The View — including the prematurely departed and greatly missed Rosie O’Donnell. (Seriously. I tried to watch she show this week and can confirm that it has reverted to its earlier, unwatchably boring, possibly homophobic, pre-O’Donnell self.)

Rosie has long said she’s not going to attend the Emmys because of a scheduling conflict with one of her kids’ school functions, but it’s just as well, since it would’ve been a conflict of another kind if she and Elisabeth Hasselbeck ever found themselves in a room together again (even one as big as the Kodak Theatre). … continue reading

It’s a big year for not only our favorite lesbian conspiracy theorist and the other gabby ladies of The View (10 nods), but also for female-hosted and -produced shows generally.