Donald Trump

Did Oprah Winfrey Torpedo Labor Nominee Andrew Puzder?

She submitted a tape of Puzder's ex-wife describing abuse by Puzder to the Senate HELP Committee

President Donald Trump's pick for Labor Secretary, Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name Wednesday from consideration for the Cabinet post amid concerns over his business record and remarks about women and workers at his company.

But another aspect of Puzder's history — involving 30-year-old allegations of domestic abuse against his ex-wife — has begun to take center stage, and that scandal has engulfed an unlikely person — talk show icon and media mogul Oprah Winfrey, NBC News reported.

Puzder's ex-wife Lisa Fierstein appeared on Winfrey’s show in March of 1990 for a segment about "High Class Battered Women," in which she describes abuse by Puzder while disguised under the name "Ann."

Winfrey, a Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama supporter, shared the tape, and other episodes dedicated to discussion of domestic violence, with the Senate Health, Education, labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the board in charge of deciding whether to advance Puzder's nomination to the rest of the chamber.

Fierstein filed a court petition in 1988 alleging abuse by Puzder, but it was dismissed. She has since retracted her allegations, and told the HELP committee that she regrets appearing on the show.

Contact Us