Don't look for Oprah during first day of jury selection

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey's expected appearance next Monday in a Philadelphia courtroom as a defendant in a defamation trial was supposed to thrill throngs of observers.

The paparazzi, some national infotainment outlets and hordes of Oprahphiles - all waiting for a glimpse of the billionaire litigant in a serious First Amendment suit.

But Winfrey won't be there after all, the Daily News has learned.

Both the talk-show host and Lerato Nomvuyo Mzamane, who filed the defamation lawsuit against Winfrey, will be absent from jury selection at the federal courthouse, said a source close to the case.

The two parties came to an agreement about not showing up on the first day of jury selection, said the source, who spoke only on condition of anonymity.

If selection goes into Tuesday, it's up to Mzamane and Winfrey whether they want to be present for the remainder of the selection process, the source said.

But they both must be in court once the trial gets under way.

Most court observers believe selection will take one day.

Mzamane is the former headmistress of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, in South Africa. She filed suit against Winfrey in October 2008, alleging that the queen of talk defamed her to the students' parents and the media in late 2007.

The parties have stipulated that Winfrey's net worth was $1.2 billion as of Nov. 5, 2007, which was the day of the news conference during which Winfrey allegedly made defamatory statements, according to legal filings in the case.

Forbes magazine earlier this month published Winfrey's net worth at $2.4 billion, ranking her as the 400th richest person on the planet.

Staff writer Michael Hinkelman contributed to this report.