Oprah sued by former flight attendant fired for having sex with pilot

October 13, 3:09 PMSan Diego Airport ExaminerJoel Siegfried

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Media mogul and talk show host Oprah Winfrey is making news over an alleged sex incident aboard her private jet.

The flight attendant, Corrine Gehrls, age 39, claims that she was fired by Ms. Winfrey, after two other flight attendants, Myron Gooch and Kirby Bumpus, who is the daughter of Oprah's best friend, Gayle King, accused her of having sex with the jet's chief pilot Terry Pansing, age 57.

She has filed suit against the TV personality for defamation of character and wrongful termination in a Chicago Federal Court, and is seeking more than $300,000 in damages. Both she and Pansing, who is married, have passed polygraph tests denying the lurid claims. Even so, they were not rehired.
CAPTION: (LEFT) Oprah Winfrey (Photo courtesy of AP)

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CAPTION: (ABOVE RIGHT) Bombardier Global Express XRS (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

A Slide Show follows this article with photos of  the Bombardier Global Express XRS.

In court documents, Ms. Gehrls not only denies the charges, but throws some mud herself. She claims that flight attendant Gooch had an inflight affair with Oprah's friend Gayle King, and had demanded special perks, including hotel upgrades, and a flight schedule allowing him to care for his cats.

Ms. Winfrey and other passengers had taken sleeping pills and were reportedly napping during the alleged incident, which was claimed to have occurred while the aircraft was being refueled.

Oprah travels at just under the speed of sound in a new Canadian-made Bombardier Global Express XRS. So does Celine Dion, film director Steven Spielberg, computer billionaire Bill Gates, and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté.

The aircraft is said to be the world's most luxurious business jet, and has a base sticker price of just over $42 million, but if you have to ask, it's probably not in your budget. It can be customized with personalized decor options. Ms. Winfrey's plane has a leather interior and designer fixtures for the bathroom and galley, among other high-end trimmings.

CAPTION: (ABOVE LEFT) Interior of Bombardier Global Express XRS (Photo courtesy of Bombardier)

Powered by twin Rolls-Royce BR710 engines, and flying at altitudes of up to 51,000 feet, the pricey jet carries 8 to 10 passengers and a crew of four. It has a range of 5,450 nautical miles nonstop at Mach 0.87 and up to 6,500 nautical miles nonstop at slower speeds. It can easily travel between Tokyo and New York, or Moscow and Los Angeles without refueling.

Celebrities are especially prone to become parties in lawsuits because of their high net worth. Ms. Winfrey had been previously sued in Federal Court by the Texas Beef Group over remarks she had made about "Mad Cow Disease", claiming her comments were "false and disparaging," and costing the beef industry millions of dollars in  sales. She won that litigation, but has had to defend herself in numerous other unrelated lawsuits.

CAPTION: (ABOVE RIGHT) Oprah Winfrey (Photo courtesy of AP)

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