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*A Boston woman claims to have pitched a reality show idea titled "The Philanthropist" to producers for Oprah Winfrey, only to see her idea come to fruition and air three years later under the name "Oprah's Big Give."
According to the New York Daily News' Rush & Malloy column, Darlene Tracy says it was Feb. 2005 when she developed her concept for "The Philanthropist," which would feature challenges in which contestants find ways to help the needy. Tracy claims she sent her pitch to Ellen Rakieten, executive producer of Winfrey's talk show, and that Rakieten and another producer, Jennifer Thornton, wrote back to ask for more details.
Tracy claims to have mailed a detailed business proposal on March 1, 2005. Four months later, Thornton allegedly told Tracy that Oprah's company, Harpo Productions, was going to pass on her idea.
In November 2006, Winfrey announced on her show that she was giving money to audience members so they could help their communities. When Oprah and ABC announced the following month they were teaming up for "Big Give," Tracy, representing herself, promptly filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Boston seeking to stop "Big Give" from airing, reports the column.
Lawyers for Chicago-based Winfrey successfully argued that Massachusetts was the wrong venue in which to try the case. Judge Rya Zobel dismissed Tracy's action, without an opinion. Tracy has since hired a lawyer and filed an appeal that documents her contact with Winfrey's Harpo Productions and sets forth similarities between "The Philanthropist" and "Big Give."
A Winfrey spokesman tells the column: "We agree with the judge that [Tracy's] claims against Harpo Productions, Inc. are without merit."
According to Rush & Malloy, Tracy's lawsuit may affect future deals involving the show. The columnists state: "We hear that Winfrey and Rakieten have been shopping a companion 'Big Give' book. Winfrey is said to have bypassed Random House because its Crown division signed Kitty Kelley to dig dirt on her.
"Instead, we hear, she's been talking to Simon & Schuster - but the prospect of having Tracy name the house in her suit has chilled the deal. Reps for the publisher and Harpo insist that there are no plans for a 'Big Give' book."
In other Oprah legal news, a woman filed suit against Harpo and the "Oprah Winfrey Show" claiming she was pushed down the stairs by crazed fans while attending one of the tapings in Chicago.
In court documents filed in Cook County, Illinois Circuit Court Wednesday, Orit Greenberg says she was in the audience at Harpo Studios on December 2006 when a fan stampede broke out, causing her to suffer serious injuries.
Greenberg says that she, along with an "excess number of patrons," was gathered in a waiting room before the show when audience members were informed they could enter the studio and sit "where they wanted," causing pure havoc. Greenberg says she was pushed down a flight of stairs as everyone "rushed the gate."
The suit alleges Harpo failed to properly control the crowd and was careless by allowing guests to seat themselves. Greenberg says she has suffered "severe and permanent injuries" from the incident, and seeks more than $50,000 for medical care and other damages.
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