Oprah Winfrey: No Palin, No How

Oprah Winfrey responded this afternoon to the Drudge Report stating that there was a rift among her show's staffers about having Sarah Palin appear. In essence, she said there is no way Palin will appear on the show before the election because of her support of Barack Obama.

"The item in today's Drudge Report is categorically untrue," Winfrey said. "There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over."

Oprah Balking at Having Palin on Show

Drudge is reporting this morning that Oprah is resisting having Sarah Palin on as a guest on her show because of her loyalty to Obama. This, according to the report, is causing a rift among Oprah's staff:

Oprah Winfrey may have introduced Democrat Barack Obama to the women of America -- but the talkshow queen is not rushing to embrace the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket!

Oprah's staff is sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin, sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

"Half of her staff really wants Sarah Palin on," an insider explains. "Oprah's website is getting tons of requests to put her on, but Oprah and a couple of her top people are adamantly against it because of Obama."

One executive close to Winfrey is warning any Palin ban could ignite a dramatic backlash!

It is not clear if Oprah has softened her position after watching Palin's historic convention speech.

Last year, Winfrey blocked an appearance by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, timed to a promotional tour of his autobiography.

Oprah and executive producer Sheri Salata, who has contributed thousands of dollars to Obama's campaign, refused requests for comment.

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