Oprah Winfrey distances herself from Russell Simmons, cuts him off from her spiritual advice book

In the wake of recent multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against music mogul and author, Russell Simmons, it has now been revealed that Oprah Winfrey has dropped contributions by the Def Jam Record boss from her latest book “The Wisdom of Sundays” as it will no longer be included in the upcoming editions.

The decision was disclosed to The New York Times by Winfrey and her publisher Flatiron Books.

The spiritual advice book which was published last October, is a collection of excerpts from conversations between Winfrey and guests of her OWN network series Super Soul Sunday. Simmons’ conversation about the impact of meditation on his life was included alongside excerpts with Deepak Chopra, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Elie Wiesel, among others.

Marlena Bittner, a spokeswoman for the publisher, Flatiron Books, who confirmed the new development said editions of the book in stores next month will no longer include the Simmons section.

According to her, the decision to remove the pages was made jointly by Ms. Winfrey,  64,  and the publisher.

Russell Simmons, 60, is being accused by at least 12 women of sexual assault from as far back as the 80s to as early as 2016.

Is Oprah Winfrey Now Thinking Of Running For President?

oprah for president! This is definitely something you need to hear…Oprah wants to maybe, possibly, run for president one day.

Anything is possible these days when it comes to running for president, and Oprah isn’t opposed to throwing her name in the ring someday. Okay, she’s not exactly getting ready to campaign right now, but she might consider taking the office of POTUS eventually.
Seriously, even the idea of the media mogul running for office makes us giddy with excitement.

During an interview for The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations, on Bloomberg Television, the former talk show host explained she’d maybe consider the position…maybe.

The show’s host, David Rubenstein opened the door for the conversation asking the Mississippi native if she’d ever consider trying to become the first female president of the United States.

“I never considered the question even a possibility,” the 63-year-old star told Rubenstein. “I just thought, ‘Oh.’ I thought, ‘Oh, gee, I don’t have the experience. I don’t know enough.’ And now I’m thinking, ‘Oh.'”

She says that she’s changed her opinion since she saw Donald Trump get elected.

This isn’t the first time the Weight Watchers spokeswoman has been asked about the idea. She previously told Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, “Never! No, it’s not my thing.”

Although it might not be her “thing,” perhaps she’ll come around to it and crossover into politics.

It seems highly unlikely, but but the Hollywood icon can pretty much do anything these days. Plus, people are HUGE fans of hers, so why not consider it?
Being president is NOT easy, but if anyone — at least celebrity wise — could do it, it would be Oprah.

11 Michelle Obama's Shocking Words To Oprah Winfrey

Lady Michelle Obama Says Farewell to the White House: An Oprah Winfrey Special.

Though Oprah's questions ranged in topics from the serious to the silly, it was clear from the host's tone that she was pretty much in awe. Numerous times during their chat, Oprah interjected asides expressing how much it meant to her that Michelle had simply occupied the post of First Lady. "You're just being here," the host mused dreamily. "We wanted a little bit of that for ourselves." Here are the 10 most revealing moments from their chat.

1. Michelle Obama considered not addressing Trump's comments about women during her speech at Clinton's rally.

Back before Donald Trump was the President-elect, Michelle spoke at a rally for Hilary Clinton. "We saw this candidate bragging about sexually assaulting women," Michelle said to the crowd. "I can't stop thinking about this. It has shaken me to my core in a way that I couldn't have predicted."

After reflecting on those comments, Michelle told Oprah, "To have a candidate for the presidency speaking about women in such terms was not a normal thing, and so my response, in light of what I was seeing from my female staff, what I was hearing from my daughters, their reaction to it, for me, required a different kind of response. You can't just stand before people and just give a regular political speech."

Though she considered not addressing Trump's now-infamous comments made during an interview with Billy Bush, Michelle said she simply couldn't avoid it: "Do I just go out there and act like that didn't happen? That's not true. That's not honest."

2. Michelle went to bed on election night without knowing who won.

Well, she kinda knew. "Pretty much, you kind of saw the tea leaves," she confessed. "Mentally, I'd already digested it before I actually read it." She didn't actually read it, however, until the next morning when she checked her iPhone.

3. Michelle gave Melania some advice during their meeting.

"It was very pleasant," Michelle said of her time with the incoming First Lady. "It was a wonderful visit." But that didn't mean Michelle didn't have some words of wisdom for Melania Trump. "My offer to Melania was, 'You really don't know what you don't know until you're here, so the door is open,' as I've told her and as Laura Bush told me and as other First Ladies told me," Michelle revealed. (We'll have to wait and see if Melania takes Michelle up on that offer.)

4. Michelle is busy packing to move out — kind of.

"I do a lot of pointing," she said with a laugh. (But no, she's not actually on her knees packing boxes.)

5. Michelle feels badly for young celebrities.

Asked by Oprah how she stood in her truth throughout her time in the White House, Michelle said she relied on "being a grown-up," explaining that her job would have been much more challenging for her if she were only 20 or 30 years old. "I look at these young celebrities, and I just feel for them," Michelle added.

6. When her teenage daughters complain about having to deal with a security detail, Michelle tells them:

"Girl, you live in the White House!"

7. So…will Michelle ever run for office?

In one word: no. "No, no," she said. When Oprah asked again in a slightly different way, Michelle added, "Look, that's one thing I don't do. I don't make stuff up. I'm not coy. I'm pretty direct. If I were interested in it, I would say it. I don't play games.… People don't understand how hard this is, and it's not something [where] you just cavalierly ask a family to do it again." She then added that if there are "conversations" happening about her possibly running for office, she isn't part of them.

8. Being in the White House made her marriage closer.

"We can't leave! We're stuck in here together!" she joked. (This was shortly after Barack Obama dropped in to praise the job she had done and casually ask her if she was wearing a new dress — a question she either didn't hear or chose to ignore.) She also added, on a more serious note, that when you're in the White House, your spouse is really the only other person in the world who understands what you're experiencing.

9. Michelle is down for glamping.

Michelle accepted Oprah's invitation to go glamping, but on the condition that Oprah did the cooking. They agreed Yosemite and other national parks would be a good getaway — so look out, Yosemite!

10. Michelle's mom is excited for their White House run to be over.

"Grandma is done!" Michelle declared when Oprah asked if Michelle's mom was going to stick around post-presidency. "She is going back to Chicago. She is like, 'Bye, Felicia!'" (Yes, Michelle just quoted the movie Friday, and we're all better off for it.) Barack mentioned that when his family took off in the chopper on his final day, they would be headed "some place warm."

For her part, Michelle emphasized that, despite all of their differences from the President-elect, they were going to support Trump. "When he succeeds, we succeed," she said.

People Blasts Oprah Winfrey For Saying She Has Hope In President Donald Trump

Oprah Winfrey was “with her,” but the media mogul says it’s time to move on from Hillary Clinton’s stunning election loss. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Winfrey reiterated that America has spoken in the 2016 presidential election and that she is no longer fearful of a Donald Trump presidency after seeing the president-elect at the White House.

“I just saw the two of them together, I will say this: I just saw President-elect Trump with President Obama in the White House and it gave me hope,” Winfrey told ET. “To hear President-elect Trump say that he had respect for President Obama, it felt that he had reached a moment where he was actually humbled by that experience.”

Oprah urged upset Hillary supporters—and the rest of the world—to “take a deep breath,” pointing out that President Obama said he has “renewed confidence in the peaceful transition.”

Shortly after the election results were announced, Winfrey told the Associated Press that she has already noticed a change in Donald Trump’s demeanor now that he has won the election.

“I could sense, maybe I’m wrong, but I could sense from Donald Trump’s body language even when he came out for the acceptance speech, that brotha has been humbled by this world thing,” Oprah told the AP. “I think it’s a humbling process that now you literally have the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

“Hope is still alive,” Winfrey added.

But Oprah’s hopeful observations had some people up in arms. Winfrey faced serious backlash on social media for her comments, with some people questioning why she could have even mild praise for the controversial Republican president-elect who stands against just about everything she believes in.

While Oprah has never shied away from letting fans know her position on politics—her talk show was one of the first pitstops for a pre-presidential Barack Obama—she has never expressed an interest in running for office. Still, Donald Trump previously told ABC News that he would love to have Winfrey in his corner—even as his running mate.

“I think Oprah would be great. I’d love to have Oprah,” the former Celebrity Apprentice host told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in 2015. “I think we’d win easily, actually.”

In fact, the Donald first mentioned Winfrey as a possible running mate way back in 1999, but the OWN head honcho has long made it known that running for office is the one thing she knows for sure that she will never do. Earlier this year, late night host Jimmy Kimmel even asked Oprah what she would say if Trump were to reach out to her to be his running mate.

“I would say, ‘Donald, I’m with her,'” Oprah revealed.

While Kimmel speculated that Oprah could likely beat both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in any election, Winfrey downplayed that scenario.

“I do not believe that,” Oprah said. “And believe me, it’s the one thing that I know for sure, sure, sure, is I will never run for office.”

Winfrey even questioned why, for years, people have always thrown her name out there as a potential presidential candidate because she has never expressed an interest in running for office and always felt she has “no qualifications to run.” Still, after this year’s crazy campaigning, Oprah now says maybe she was wrong about her own qualifications for the most important job in the world.

“I’m feeling pretty qualified,” she joked after seeing Trump’s journey. “After this year, I’m feeling really qualified.”

Take a look at the video below to see Oprah Winfrey talking to Kimmel about this year’s election.

[Featured Image by Mike Windle/Getty Images]