Oprah Settles Suit with Former Leadership Academy Headmistress

Oprah Winfrey has settled a defamation suit filed against her by the former headmistress of her Leadership Academy in South Africa.

Lawyers for both Winfrey and the former headmistress, Lerato Nomvuyo Mzamane, told ET Tuesday, "The two parties met woman to woman without their lawyers and are happy that they could resolve this dispute peacefully to their mutual satisfaction. Ms. Winfrey testified in her deposition that she did not intend the implications placed on her words by the plaintiff. Ms. Mzamane testified in her deposition that she has no evidence that Ms. Winfrey knowingly made a false statement about her or entertained serious doubt about the truth of what she said. We are pleased both parties have reached a conclusion."

Mzamane sued Winfrey after she was dismissed following accusations that a dorm matron named Tiny Virginia Makopo had abused six girls at the Leadership Academy, according to the Associated Press. The AP reports that Winfrey said in 2007 that she had “lost confidence” in Mzamane as a result of the scandal. Mzamane claimed she had no knowledge of sexual abuse at the school, and had trouble finding a new job, according to the news agency.