Just girlfriends, not gay

New York – Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but Oprah’s not gay.

The talk show diva and her friend Gayle King explain their friendship in a long article in the August issue of O, the Oprah Magazine. King, who hosted “The Gayle King Show” in 1997, is an editor of the magazine.

“I understand why people think we’re gay,” Winfrey says. “There isn’t a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women. So I get why people have to label it – how can you be this close without it being sexual?”

The two friends say they would have no problem telling the public if they were in a sexual relationship. “The truth is, if we were gay, we would tell you, because there’s nothing wrong with being gay,” says King.

From film to TV

Pasadena, Calif. – James Woods is among the movie actors who will be starring on the small screen this fall.

Woods, 59, a two-time Oscar nominee for “Salvador” and “Ghosts of Mississippi,” will play Sebastian Stark, a supremely confident defense attorney who brings his cutthroat tactics to the prosecutor’s office, in CBS’ “Shark.”

“I had always said I didn’t want to do a series – not that I was a snob about television,” Woods told the Television Critics Assn. on Saturday. “I didn’t want to play the same character again and again and again because it was hard to imagine how he would evolve.”

“I chose this job because it’s the best thing I’ve read in 10 years,” he said. “This is where the action is. This is better than the movies. I love this show. We’re going to deal with some very sophisticated issues.”

Woods has won two Emmy Awards, for his roles in the TV movies “My Name Is Bill W.” and “Promise.”

Other film actors in new CBS series include Skeet Ulrich, who will star in “Jericho,” and Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen and Shohreh Aghdashloo, who will star in “Smith.”

Ready for a friendly reunion

London – Jennifer Aniston says she would like to reprise her role as Rachel Green in a reunion show of TV’s most famous group of “Friends.”

“The only thing I can think of doing is maybe for fun doing a Thanksgiving episode,” Aniston said in a TV interview that was set to air Monday on Channel Four. “Our Thanksgiving episodes were really fun.”

“Friends,” which centered on the lives of six young friends living in Manhattan, ended its 10-year run in 2004. The NBC comedy also starred Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer.

Aniston, 37, was in London to promote her new film, “The Break-Up,” co-starring Vince Vaughn. She gave little away when asked to comment on speculation that she and Vaughn are dating.

“Where did you hear that?” she said to Judy Finnigan, co-host of the “Richard and Judy” talk show.

“Listen, he’s a great man, he’s a great friend, he’s a great actor and so much fun,” Aniston said.

Chan issues apology

Hong Kong – Jackie Chan has apologized for disrupting a recent concert by Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jonathan Lee.

Chan climbed on the stage and then exchanged insults with the audience during Lee’s July 10 concert. The Ming Pao Daily News quoted Chan, star of the “Rush Hour” movies, as saying onstage that he was drunk.

The 52-year-old action star was filmed by an audience member, apparently by a cell phone. The footage was posted on the video-sharing Youtube”.com Web site.

The video showed a surprised Lee asking Chan, “How come you came up?”

When audience members began yelling for Chan to get off the stage, Chan responded with a Cantonese insult. As he prepared to sing, Chan motioned Lee’s band to start playing, then abruptly stopped the music. The crowd eventually applauded after Lee and Chan began singing a duet.

Chan had been an invited performing guest at Lee’s July 9 concert.

Meeting with reporters after a promotional event Sunday for his new film, “Rob-B-Hood,” Chan was initially reluctant to address the incident, but later apologized.

“I was wrong. I shouldn’t play with my friendship with Jonathan Lee in public,” he said. “I apologize to Jonathan Lee and I apologize to the audience that night.”