Oprah is NOT running a school for scandal in South Africa!

“No good deed goes unpunished” and “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” are two aphorisms that sum up the scandal now tarnishing the reputation of the most powerful woman on television, Oprah Winfrey.

Because, less than a year after the January grand opening of her $40-million “leadership academy for girls” in Johannesburg, South Africa, Oprah is suffering a living hell over allegations that one (or more) of the “matrons” she hired to nurture her schoolgirls has turned out to be a sadomasochistic pedophile who routinely abused and molested them.

I’ve disappointed you. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. [Oprah, reportedly in tears, speaking to parents after news of these abuses broke last week]

Of course, it’s instructive to recall not only the barrage of criticisms that attended the opening of this school, but also the complaints that have beset it ever since. Most notably, Americans whined about her building it in Johannesburg and not in New Orleans; and Africans complained about her strict rules, which have kept the girls practically isolated from family members and old friends.

Meanwhile, Oprah only fueled the outrage of her American critics by insinuating that neither black American children nor their parents were capable of fully appreciating such an educational opportunity. And she did not endear herself to the Africans by declaring that it’s her way or the highway…back to their township slums.

Alas, it is this context – rife with resentment – that explains why so many people are greeting the tragic turn of events at the academy with undisguised schadenfreude. However, I find this reveling over Oprah’s sorrow (not to mention the abuse of these girls) just as unfair, uninformed and unseemly as I found the criticisms of her for building the school in Africa and running it according to her rules.

In fact, here, in part, is what I wrote in Oprah’s defense back in January:

Accordingly, my heart goes out to Oprah. And, narrow-minded blacks and media vultures aside, I have no doubt that hundreds of millions of people around the world believe that her heart and soul are in the right place where this school is concerned.

Indeed, nothing demonstrates this point quite like the fact that she dropped everything in America to fly over to South Africa twice in the past two weeks. And reports are that she did so not only to plead with the parents of her schoolgirls for understanding and forgiveness, but also to personally fire the suspected abusers and demand that they be prosecuted.

At any rate, just as the aphorisms above sum up this scandal, I suspect the following quote sums up the prevailing sentiment amongst the only people who really matter:

Nevertheless, I fear it’s only a matter of time before a shyster lawyer convinces the parents of one of the abused schoolgirls that “success” can come a lot sooner by suing Oprah for millions than by having her groom their daughter for future leadership….

But God bless you Oprah! And, keep the faith.

UPDATE (4:00 pm): Reports out of South Africa indicate that, just hours after I published this article, the police arrested one of the fired matrons (a 27-year-old woman) on several charges, including alleged assault, indecent assault, crimen injuria and soliciting girls under age to perform indecent acts. And, moreover, that these charges are based on the statements of at least seven schoolgirls.

The former matron is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.

Meanwhile, here’s Oprah’s first public statement on this unfolding case, which she issued moments ago:

I’d like to thank the South African Police Services for bringing this investigation at my Academy to a timely resolution. I am grateful for their compassion and sensitivity to the girls during this difficult time. It means the world to me. It is my deepest hope that the accused is brought to justice and that this serves as a reminder that any time a child has the courage to step forward, it is our duty as adults to listen and take immediate action.

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