Exclusive

Oprah Spills Secrets of Tom Cruise Interview

Exclusive! Oprah Winfrey reveals details of her upcoming Tom Cruise interview. They talk Scientology, Matt Lauer and couch jumping!

By Marc Malkin Apr 28, 2008 1:45 AMTags
Tom Cruise, Oprah WinfreyHarpo

Oprah Winfrey went there with Tom Cruise.

I can exclusively report that Ms. Winfrey’s upcoming interview with Cruise includes questions about Scientology, his verbal smackdown with Matt Lauer on the Today show and, yes, the infamous couch-jumping incident.

Winfrey actually revealed these details herself during this weekend's Las Vegas taping of her joint interview with Tina Turner and Cher.

And that isn't all Winfrey shared.

The first of the two-part Cruise one-on-one has already taken place at his estate in Telluride, Colo., Winfrey said. “Oprah said Tom gave her a ride on a snowmobile,” one Vegas audience member told me. “She also said Katie and Suri were there for the interview, too.”

Before the Cher and Turner taping at Caesars Palace, a member of Winfrey's entourage hit the stage to ask everyone not to repeat anything they were about to see or hear. “She had everyone repeat in unison, ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ several times,” my source said.

Come on, O! Did you really think everyone in the audience of 4,000 or so was going to keep a lid on it?

The Telluride segment is set to air Friday. Then on May 5, Cruise will return to Winfrey’s Chicago studio nearly three years after his couch-jumping fiasco. So why so much Cruise? It’s the 25th anniversary of his breakout movie, Risky Business.

As for Turner and Cher, that segment airs May 8.

I've got even more scoop on Winfrey's trip to Vegas. Make sure to check my videoblog below to hear what happened when Turner announced she was going on tour. Drama!