Oprah really did speak highly of White House crasher Michaele Salahi’s singing voice, said Salahi’s spokesperson in response to reports that the television show host never made this comment to the “Real Housewives of D.C.” star.
Spreading the word on Salahi’s new single “Bump It,” the Washington Post published a story Wednesday titled, “Michaele Salahi releases single inspired by Oprah,” citing a quote from the singer’s press release about her being influenced by Oprah to pursue a singing career.
The press release quote reads, “Michaele Salahi was inspired to do something with her voice, when she was back stage with Grammy award winner Bebe Winans and television host Oprah Winfrey at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. during the inauguration of President Barack Obama. It was a defining moment backstage when Oprah told Michaele, ‘Wow, you have an amazing voice!'”
But Gossip Cop countered this report on Wednesday, alleging that Oprah’s rep replied, “Oprah briefly met Ms. Salahi backstage at the Kennedy Center after an Oprah Show taping in January 2009. However, there’s absolutely no truth to the report that they discussed Ms. Salahi’s vocal abilities.”
Clifford Lee, media liaison to the Salahis, told The Daily Caller that Oprah did in fact give kudos to Mrs. Salahi’s singing talents.
“[T]he simple facts are, when Oprah stated to Michaele Salahi that she had an amazing voice, she did so in front of several witnesses, including Mr. Salahi, Mr. Eric Meyrowitz who is the VP of programming for Tribune Broadcasting, and his wife,” Lee told TheDC. “In addition, Grammy Award winner, Mr. Bebe Winans was present & several others back stage that all heard Oprah state that.”
Salahi’s song “Bump It” officially debuted on Thursday but was made available on Wednesday for users of Salahi’s free app, “LOVE YOU.” On who would be a fan of her tune, Salahi wrote on Facebook on Tuesday, “If you love Dance music, you will LOVE my first single! OXO Who wants to dance with me?”