Oprah Winfrey has spoken out about her "devastation" upon hearing of the allegations of child abuse taking place at her all-girls academy in South Africa. The media mogul recently visited the Henley-on-Klip Leadership Academy, which she co-founded in 2006, after hearing reports a matron at the boarding school had molested a pupil. Several more alleged victims have since come forward - making a total of 15. A former employee was arrested on Thursday on numerous charges including assault, indecent assault and soliciting underage girls to perform indecent acts, after a local newspaper article brought attention to the matter last month. The woman has now been freed on bail of 3000 rand ($458), after a brief appearance in a Johannesburg court on Monday. The case has been postponed until December 13 to facilitate further investigation. Speaking at a video news conference in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, Winfrey voiced her disdain at the conduct of the disgraced dorm parents - who have since been fired from their positions - and pledged to do everything she can to ensure the pupils receive the best care available. And Winfrey has credited her spiritual strength for helping her deal with the pressure of the situation.

She said, "This is one of the most devastating experiences of my life, but there's a lot to be gained, a lot to be learnt. (But) we are moving forward. What I know is that no one, not the accused, will destroy the dream that I have held (for this academy) and I am prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure it becomes the safe, nurturing place that I have envisioned. (When I found out about the allegations) I was so stunned I couldn't wrap my brain around it. I was going from room to room in my house crying. But I pulled myself together and started making calls, to find out how best to look after the girls. I take it very personally as I said to the girls this summer before any I knew any of this was going on. I said to them, 'I am a mama bear when it comes to protecting my children', and these girls are like my children. I take the responsibility of what their futures hold personally. I don't feel it's harmed my personal reputation as I have not done anything wrong. It's a horrible situation but (when I spoke to the girls) I encouraged them to speak up to protect themselves and their fellow classmates, that this is about taking their voices back. I assured them that the abuse will end and good will prevail. (The case) has shaken me to my core, but at the core is a spiritual foundation and my belief that everything happens for a reason and these things will pass. I am grateful to their parents, guardians and their caretakers for their continued support. The resilience of the human spirit is stronger than hatred, violence and loss, and it's also stronger than any abuse. Their (the girls') lights will not be diminished by this experience."

Top U.S. late night talk shows The Tonight Show, The Daily Show and Late Show with David Letterman have become the first big victims of the Hollywood writer's strike. Producers of the three programs scrapped plans to air on Monday night as the walk-out kicked off, following a weekend of desperate talks to halt the strike. The Tonight Show host Jay Leno briefly joined the picket line outside the NBC studios in Burbank, California - where his show is taped - after network bosses announced the show would immediately go into reruns. David Letterman's Late Show will also run a series of repeats this week, as will The Daily Show and a series of daytime talk shows. The strike started on a noise note as picketing writers began chanting noisily outside CBS and Paramount Studios in Hollywood early on Monday morning. Those organized outside Paramount wore red strike T-shirts and carried signs reading, "Writers Guild Of America On Strike."

Talk show host Larry King has filed a lawsuit against his former insurance brokers, accusing them of conning him out of $15 million in personal life insurance policies. King, who filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles' U.S. District Court on October 22, claims he was swindled out of the cash in an elaborate scheme by the Meltzer Group in 2004. He has also named the head of the company, Alan Meltzer, in the suit, after being convinced to engage in a series of "highly complex life insurance transactions" which resulted in the buying and selling of policies worth a total value of $15 million. In one instance, King purchased a $10 million policy, which he was instructed to sell immediately for $550,000 profit. The 73-year-old also claims he was told to sell a $5 million policy for just $850,000. In the legal papers, King accused Meltzer of being driven by "greed" to steer him into deals which were against his financial interests, without considering the "likelihood of his future uninsurablility." He also claims the deals were organized to benefit Meltzer financially through commissions and bonuses. King - who has not specified monetary damages - is suing Meltzer and his company for breach of fiduciary duty, reports website TheSmokingGun.com.

Katie Holmes' family have hailed as the actress as "amazing" for taking part in the New York City Marathon. Holmes completed the 26.2 mile race in five hours, 29 minutes and 58 seconds on Sunday - and her loved ones couldn't be happier for her. Mum Kathy says, "Isn't she amazing? She's such a good girl. We're so proud (of her)." And hours after crossing the finish line, the actress stepped out to accompany her husband Tom Cruise for the New York premiere of his new film, Lions For Lambs. When asked about his wife's accomplishment, Cruise told People.com, "I know, I know. It's amazing!"

Former The West Wing star Allison Janney is hobbling around Hollywood after suffering a trampoline injury. The actress was spotted wearing a cast and a foot support while grocery shopping with longtime partner Richard Jenik in Los Angeles on Monday. Putting on a brave face, she said, "I injured my foot on the trampoline. I'd rather not go into details. Let's just say I landed awkwardly." Slender Janney likes to put her body to the test - a yoga and pilates fan, the actress was one of the first celebrities to sign up for pole dancing lessons when former The West Wing co-star Richard Schiff's wife Sheila Kelley hosted her S Factor striptease/exercises classes.

Actress Angelina Jolie was bashful after seeing herself in a simulated nude scene in forthcoming animated movie Beowulf. The Tomb Raider star - who plays a temptress killer lizard, painted gold and fitted with a tail - admits the motion capture technology was so shockingly real, she phoned her partner Brad Pitt to warn him about the nudity in the family movie. She says, "I was really surprised that I felt that exposed. There are certain moments where I felt actually shy - and called home, just to explain that the fun movie that I had done that was digital animation was, in fact, a little different than we expected. I didn't expect ourselves to come out as much. I didn't expect it to feel as real, and so because of especially the type of character I play, it was kind of funny at first."

Hollywood actress Meryl Streep angered former ABBA member Benny Andersson while shooting the big-screen adaptation of Mamma Mia! - because she did not know the words to his songs. Streep, who stars alongside Pierce Brosnan in the film version of the hit musical, thought she could remember the lyrics to the 1970s hits perfectly - until she realized the words were completely wrong. She says, "The funny thing is, I didn't even know I knew much about ABBA before I met Benny Andersson and (bandmate) Bjorn Ulvaeus, but then when I thought about it, I realized that all of their music was stuck in my head without my knowing it, that I knew every word to every song. Except that I got most of them wrong, which caused a little tension with Benny, because he's quite the perfectionist."

Casey Affleck was left red faced after a confrontation with Morgan Freeman on the set of their latest film Gone Baby Gone - because he turned up late for work. Affleck claims the incident occurred following a timing miscalculation, when Freeman was brought on set earlier than required - and was forced to wait in his trailer for the younger star to show up. He tells talk show host Larry King, "Morgan was fantastic. He is Morgan Freeman. The first day he came to work, everyone is a little on edge because Morgan was coming and it was a big week. And I guess they brought in Morgan a little bit early. You know, they thought he might need a hair cut or something. But Morgan didn't need a haircut. So he was sitting in his trailer for half an hour, waiting for everyone else to show up. And so when I got there, Morgan had been told that he was waiting there because I was late. No one wanted to admit that they had brought him in early. So I went up to Morgan's trailer, and knocked on the door. And I thought, I'm going to introduce myself to Morgan Freeman. And he came out and gave me a lecture for 15 minutes about being late and being professional. And so I had live with that."

Britney Spears' parenting skills have been called into question once again, after leaving her two sons in the car to go shopping for chandeliers. The troubled pop star, 25, was enjoying a monitored day out with her sons Sean Preston, two, and Jayden James, one, on Sunday, as part of the court agreement in her bitter custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline. But instead of spending quality time at home with the boys, Spears decided she needed new light fixtures, and stopped off at the Crystal Palace store in Los Angeles - leaving her kids with the court-appointed supervisor. Under the latest court ruling, Spears is allowed to see her two boys three times a week, but must comply with an earlier court order to undergo mandatory drug and alcohol tests and well as attend joint parenting sessions with dancer Federline. The former couple's next custody hearing is set for November 26.

Beloved U.S. TV personality Rosie O'Donnell is reportedly planning to take on CNN's Larry King - with a new chat show. O'Donnell is in talks to front a new primetime program for cable channel MSNBC, which will air at the same time as King's long-running show Larry King Live. It'll be O'Donnell's first show since she left daytime talk show The View in May.