� S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S �Sunday, November 22, 2009 F3HIJKLM K PAGE 15
Y
ou might say our national nightmare is over. Or is it
just a TV series?
In any case, TLC's reality show "Jon & Kate Plus
8" will end its spectacular but stormy run in the
episode that is to run Monday stateside.
During this final hour, Jon and Kate Gosselin, the es-
tranged parents of young twins and sextuplets, will venture
on separate outings with the kids. (Jon will take them to a
fire station near the family home in Wernersville, Pa. With
Kate, they visit a local dairy farm.)
Individually, each newly single parent will reflect on what
the past has meant and what the future might hold.
And that will be that, says TLC.
It would seem the series is going out with a grateful sigh
of relief, if not a whimper, after months in the midst of noise
and upheaval. The feuding couple's split came to dominate
the series, as well as helping fuel a firestorm of tabloid cover-
age.
It was all good for ratings, of course.
When the pair made their separation official on a "Jon &
Kate" episode that aired in June, it was seen by a remark-
able 10.6 million viewers.
After that, production and airing of the series lurched in
fits and starts to accommodate the Gosselins' unraveling
home life.
Then, in September, a revamped series was announced.
"Jon & Kate Plus 8" was meant to segue smoothly into "Kate
Plus Eight" this month.
TLC's president and general manager, Eileen O'Neill,
described the new concept as "not a huge shift," and said Jon
Gosselin would still be involved, though in a reduced role.
But that plan was apparently torpedoed by his objections
to having the children displayed any longer on TV. Any film-
ing of the kids has been halted for weeks.
"`Kate Plus Eight' is not in production," TLC spokeswom-
an Laurie Goldberg said Thursday. "We are focusing on the
launch of Kate's new series in early spring."
She said no details were available.
Chaz Bono happy with sex change
Chaz Bono says beginning the sex-change process to turn
from a woman to a man is "the best decision I've ever made."
The 40-year-old writer, activist and reality TV star, who
was born a girl to Sonny Bono and Cher, is eight months into
the years-long transformation.
Formerly called Chastity, Chaz told ABC's "Good Morning
America" on Thursday: "Life is short and life is precious.
This is who I am. I need to finally be who I am."
hot dish
Nicole Richie, 28, has been admitted to a Los Angeles hos-
pital and is being treated for pneumonia. Her representative
says she's doing well.
-- The Associated Press
TLC pulls plug
on family circus
Somerhalder handles
two shows with bite
Ian Somerhalder is in two of
TV's hottest shows -- but can't say
much about either.
Somerhalder plays bad boy vam-
pire Damon on "Vampire Diaries"
and returns from the dead to ap-
pear in the final season of "Lost."
Somerhalder says he shot the
"Lost" season opener in Hawaii
and will return "a couple times"
while shooting "Vampire Diaries"
in Atlanta.
As for spoilers, Somerhalder
will only say that the "Lost" script
was so detailed, it "weighed about
three pounds" and that he wears
the same clothes he did five years
ago.
As for "Vampire Diaries," he
reveals that Damon is going to do
something that makes him "not as
all powerful as he used to be."
-- The Associated Press
AP file
Beyonce's hair gets around.
Beyonce's hair-raising tale
No matter where she goes, Beyonce
needs the wind in her hair. The fierce
singer recently requested a wind ma-
chine at a London nightclub, just to keep
her locks blowing all night long. The fan
was put near her entourage and the diva
kept it just inches from her face.
-- Wireless Flash
Some say Kate Moss' comment in poor taste
Eating disorder experts
criticized Kate Moss on
Thursday after the super-
model cited as her motto a
phrase used on Web sites
that encourage girls to avoid
eating.
In an interview with the
fashion Web site WWD,
Moss said one of her mottos
was "nothing tastes as good
as skinny feels." The same
slogan is posted on Web sites
encouraging girls not to eat.
Mary George of British
eating-disorder charity Beat
called Moss' words "very
unfortunate."
"Comments like this make
it even more difficult for
young people struggling with
an eating disorder," she said.
Model Katie Green, who
is campaigning to stop the
use of ultrathin "size zero"
models, called the comments
"shocking and irresponsible."
Moss, 35, is famous for her
waif-like look, which helped
spur a trend for super-thin
models in the 1990s.
Moss' modeling agency,
Storm, said her words had
been misinterpreted.
"This was part of a longer
answer Kate gave during
a wider-ranging interview,
which has unfortunately been
taken out of context and com-
pletely misrepresented," the
agency said in a statement.
"For the record, Kate does
not support this as a lifestyle
choice."
-- The Associated Press
ABC
One hot guy, two hot shows.
AP file
Moss opens mouth, in-
serts foot instead of food.
AP file photos
Jon and Kate Gosselin, formerly of "Jon & Kate Plus 8," are
no longer doing a television show at all -- for now.
H
olding back tears, Oprah Win-
frey told her studio audience
Friday that she would end her
show in 2011 after a quarter-
century on the air, saying prayer and care-
ful thought led her to her decision.
Winfrey told the audience that she loved
"The Oprah Winfrey Show," that it had
been her life and that she knew when it was
time to say goodbye. "Twenty-five years
feels right in my bones and feels right in
my spirit," she said.
Winfrey talked about being nervous
when the program began in 1986 and
thanked audiences who had invited her
into their homes and lives over the past two
decades.
"I certainly never could have imagined
the yellow brick road of blessings that have
led me to this moment," she said.
The powerhouse show became the
foundation for her multibillion-dollar
media empire, but in the last year, has seen
its ratings slip 7 percent. Winfrey, 55, is
widely expected to start up a new talk show
on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a
much-delayed joint venture with Discov-
ery Communications Inc. that is projected
to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the
Discovery Health Channel and will debut
in some 74 million homes.
Winfrey offered no specifics about her
plans for the future, except to say that she
intended to produce the best possible shows
during her last 18 months on the air.
CBS Television Distribution, which
distributes the show to more than 200 U.S.
markets, held out hope it could continue
doing business with Winfrey.
Winfrey started her broadcasting career
in Nashville, Tenn., and Baltimore, Md.,
before relocating to Chicago in 1984 to
host WLS-TV's morning talk show "A.M.
Chicago" -- which became "The Oprah
Winfrey Show" one year later. She set up
Harpo the following year and her talk show
went into syndication.
Since then Winfrey has built a media
empire. Harpo Studios produces shows
hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and celebrity
chef Rachael Ray. O, The Oprah Magazine
was the nation's 7th most popular magazine
in the first half of 2009.
Earlier this year, Forbes scored Win-
frey's net worth at $2.7 billion.
-- The Associated Press
AP
Oprah Winfrey says she will end her syndi-
cated daytime talk show in 2011.
Oh, no! O's
going to go
FACES

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