Who Sued by Texas Cattlemen for Badmouthing Beef
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Oprah accused of whipping upwards anti-beef 'lynch mob'
Thumbs up from Oprah Winfrey as she leaves court Midweek Food defamation trial opens in Amarillo
January 21, 1998
Spider web posted at: 8:56 p.yard. EST (0156 GMT)AMARILLO, Texas (CNN) -- Talk testify host Oprah Winfrey was defendant of creating a "lynch mob mentality" among members of her studio audition to produce a "scary" story about the prophylactic of beef, co-ordinate to attorneys for a grouping of Texas cattle producers suing Winfrey over a 1995 episode of her show.
"The message of the testify was never meant to be where opinions are shared. The bear witness was meant to be scary," said David Mullin, an attorney for the cattle producers, during opening statements in the trial Wednesday. "The truth is not as interesting. It doesn't produce ratings."
Just Winfrey's attorney, Chip Babcock, told the eight women and four men on the jury that the testify in question was fair and that Winfrey did not set up out to target the beef industry.
"The program did not propose beef was unsafe. Oprah Winfrey did not wake up and say, 'Let'southward go get the beef industry,'" Babcock said.
The cattle producers are suing Winfrey under a 1995 Texas constabulary under which people can be held liable if they make false and disparaging statements about perishable nutrient products.
In April 1996, the topic of Winfrey's prove was mad cow disease, an outbreak of which had occurred in U.k.. The disease in cattle has been linked to a related disease in humans that kills people by slowing destroying brain tissue.
Though there has non been any outbreak of mad cow disease in the United states, a guest on Winfrey's show, Howard Lyman, criticized the practice of feeding processed livestock to cattle, which has been linked to the outbreak in Europe. Winfrey responded that Lyman'due south remarks "just stopped me common cold from eating another burger."
Supporters of Oprah in Santa Atomic number 26, New Mexico Lyman, who is as well beingness sued by the cattle producers, also intimated that an outbreak of man course of mad cow illness could make AIDS look like the common common cold.
Cattle producers merits that the remarks on Winfrey'due south top-rated talk show subsequently sent cattle prices tumbling, costing them $12 million.
However, in his opening remarks, Babcock claimed that ane of the cattle producers actually made $140,000 in the backwash of the show by betting in the cattle futures marketplace that prices would get down.
After the opening arguments, jurors watched an 80-minute unedited version of the show, equally well equally the last hour-long version that aired.
Winfrey, who arrived in Amarillo earlier in the week, attended Wednesday's court session, inbound through a back door to elude fans camped out in front end. She generally remained quiet and expressionless for the most role throughout the proceedings.
Only another plaintiffs' attorney, Joseph Coyne, elicited a wide-eyed, incredulous look from the talk show host when he said that "during breaks, Ms. Winfrey acted as cheerleader and created a lynch mob mentality amongst spectators."
Starting Thursday, Winfrey will brainstorm filming her talk evidence, usually based in Chicago, in Amarillo. Scheduled guests include 3 native Texans: actor Patrick Swayze, country vocalizer Clint Black and his wife, actress Lisa Hartman Blackness. Local residents have been clamoring to become tickets.
Meanwhile, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, supporters of Winfrey staged a protest rally Wednesday, trampling hamburgers underfoot to show solidarity.
Correspondent Jeff Flock contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Court shares light moment during Oprah jury selection - January 20, 1998
- Jury option to begin in cattlemen's suit against Oprah - Jan 20, 1998
- More than proof links 'mad cow illness' to humans - Oct 23, 1996
- FDA tries to minimize possibility of mad moo-cow affliction in U.S. - May 14, 1996
- European union agrees to fund slaughter of millions of British cattle - Apr 3, 1996
- Scientists urge circumspection in 'mad cow' panic - March 29, 1996
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
- Cattlemen On the Web
- The Oprah Winfrey Prove - official site
- King World Productions
- Howard Lyman - Voice for a Viable Future
- The Official Mad Cow Disease home folio
- Articles on the Oprah/Mad Cow trial
- Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) fact sheet - World Health System
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Source: http://www.cnn.com/US/9801/21/oprah.beef/
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