Oprah Winfrey's Bodyguards Brawl With Indian Media

Former talk-show host's visit to Asian country was anything but relaxing after some of her security staff got into a row with local reporters

By Josh Grossberg Jan 19, 2012 4:07 PMTags
Oprah Winfrey AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi

They love Oprah Winfrey in India—perhaps a little too much.

On a sojourn to the subcontinent this week, the former Queen of Daytime decided to pay a surprise visit to the sacred Hindu town of Uttar Pradesh, but things didn't go as smoothly as planned after her private security guards got into a row with local Indian reporters.

Perhaps some meditation is in order...

MORE: Oprah Winfrey Celebrates First Graduating Class of Leadership Academy for Girls!

Per Reuters, Winfrey stopped at a center for child widows on Thursday in a suburb approximately 90 miles south of Delhi when her bodyguards were seen roughing up a TV journalist and cameraman who had tried to follow her inside.

"Oprah Winfrey was in one of the ashrams where the widows stay. Journalists wanted to go in, but were refused entry," Prem Gautam, Superintendent of Police for the Mathura Region, told the wire service.  "They had an argument, but it was all sorted."

No one was hurt, but some camera equipment reportedly suffered damage in the incident and the angry reporter ended up throwing stones at the men.

MORE: Oprah Opens African School

Consequently, police briefly detained three of Winfrey's security guards, who were released after they wrote a letter of apology to the media.

This isn't the first time Oprah has caused a commotion during her maiden trip to India, which has also taken her to Delhi and the Taj Mahal.

Earlier this week, the 57-year-old talk-show host attended a party thrown by Indian billionaire Parmeshwar Godrej only to have neighbors call the cops complaining the music was too loud. Godrej was subsequently slapped with three fines.

Also attending the party was Bollywood star Anil Kapoor, known best to American moviegoers as the game-show host in Slumdog Millionaire and his recent turn in Mission: ImpossibleGhost Protocol.