Late-night veteran David Letterman sat down with Oprah (wearing white socks) earlier this month to talk about his heart surgery, their feud, and the infidelities that nearly ended his marriage to Regina Lasko. Letterman took full responsibility for the scandal, but said it's been a boon to his marriage and his self-esteem: "I feel better about myself; my relationship with my wife is SIC never better."
The host's notorious self-loathing surfaced several times (he still "can't forgive that behavior" on his own part), in particular when Oprah asked what went through his mind as he prepared to come out onstage and do his show during that time. Saying that it shows "the breadth and width of what a weasel I can be," Letterman admitted that he was thinking, "'Maybe I can get a little sympathy out of this deal.'" Ouch.
But our favorite bit is when Oprah shone a light on their long-running "feud." Letterman didn't think it was real, so much, although "it was great for" his show when he leveraged it as a joke. But Oprah said she'd gone on his show once, long ago, and "it was a terrible experience" for her, specifically getting heckled by a bunch of drunk guys. Letterman didn't remember that at all and promptly apologized -- and they laid the vendetta to rest with a handshake.
Lady Gaga "kind of liked" the smell of the meat dress
Much of this first-season ep was devoted to the mutual admiration society Oprah and Lady Gaga formed for each other as two super-famous role models with non-profit foundations -- and it's kind of fun to see how touched Gaga was by Oprah's "sense of sisterhood and mothering towards" her.
Gaga also refused to talk about her current man (or if it even was a man) in any detail, which Oprah admitted was her fault: "I told you yesterday you should never talk about your relationships." Oprah did get Gaga to say that she wants lots of kids -- a "soccer team"'s worth.
But let's get to the meat of it, by which we mean the meat dress Gaga wore to the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. (The dress has its own Wikipedia page, by the way.) Did it smell by the end? "Oh yes," Gaga laughed, "but I kind of liked it." Why? "I don't like talking to celebrities," and the stench kept most people at a safe distance. We'll have to try that…
Whitney Houston's brother "loved" Bobby Brown
Oprah headed to Atlanta last March to talk with Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina; her brother, Gary; and her sister-in-law, manager, and confidante Patricia about all the stories swirling around the singer's untimely death. Why did Bobby Brown get kicked out of the memorial? Did Patricia think Whitney had started using again?
Patricia denied that Whitney had any substance issues in the last part of her life, though "the handwriting was on the wall" as far as the damage drugs may have already done to the star. Patricia also went through some impressive vagueness contortions in an effort to call Whitney's then-gentleman-friend Ray Jay shady, without using his name or the word "shady." "I was afraid for other things, lifestyle," she said, and "I saw her chasing a dream, you know, looking for love in all the wrong places."
Neither the drug denials nor the idea that Ray Jay was a subpar influence is a huge surprise, but Gary's comments about Whitney's explosive ex, Bobby Brown, might be. Gary categorically denied that the family didn't want him at the memorial service: "He was supposed to be there."
Gary also said, "I loved Bobby; Bobby was a good guy." The jury's out on that one (at best); Gary conceded that "I don't know how good they were for one another," but said he couldn't exert much influence, then busted out one of the best metaphors for a toxic relationship we've ever heard. "It's like scissors," he said. "You get in between that, you're gonna get cut." Maybe not the best taste in brothers-in-law, but Gary has a way with words.
If we missed a big moment, let us know in the comments -- and tell us whether you think Oprah can get Lance to confess for real.
The first half of "Oprah's Next Chapter" featuring Lance Armstrong airs Thursday, 1/17 at 9 PM on OWN.