Oprah Winfrey Barber Shop Purchase Angers Step-Mother
Media Mogul Said to Spark Family Feud by Saving Dad's Business From Foreclosure
Oprah Winfrey has possibly created some family drama after she decided to buy out her father's barbershop, which has angered her step-mother who insists she could have saved the family business herself.
"I know what is going on. I'm tired of it, and I've had enough. There is no reason for it to go into foreclosure like this. The property is upside down, which is what a lot of properties are. It cost us $481,000 to build this building, but it's only worth $350,000," remarked Barbara Winfrey, Winfrey's step-mother who filed for divorce from Vernon Winfrey earlier this week.
She insists that she could have paid off the Nashville, Tenn., store's debt herself and did not want Winfrey buying the Nashville shop, which went for $475,000.
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"People are giving him wrong advice, and it's leaving me in a situation where all I can do is fight for me. He believes what he's told. His daughter doesn't care about the community. His daughter doesn't care about the barbershop. But I do," Barbara Winfrey added.
Vernon Winfrey has stated that he fully supports his daughter in buying the property, however.
"My wife and I, we have not been getting along well, and I did not want to endow myself to another drawn-out, struggling debt," he explained.
An a Winfrey representative has confirmed, the media mogul's father will continue working for the barbershop.
"Oprah purchased the property that was in foreclosure. Vernon Winfrey has been a fixture in the community for decades and will continue to manage the business on a day-to-day basis," the unidentified representative shared.
Vernon Winfrey reportedly has run the barbershop for the past 50 years, although he and his wife bought a new building and moved the business into it a year ago.
