Amarillo, TX - Oprah Winfrey will tape her popular television talk show at the Little Theater in Amarillo, Texas while defending herself in a lawsuit brought by Texas cattle raisers.
The community theater, which announced late Friday that negotiations with Winfrey had fallen through, agreed during the weekend to let Winfrey rent the facility from Jan. 16 through Feb. 20.
The theater will build the sets and hold rehearsals for its next production at a different location, but said it would need the facility back in late February.
Amarillo cattleman Paul F. Engler and other cattle companies allege that a discussion of the U.S. threat of "mad cow" disease on a 1996 Winfrey show caused them to lose millions of dollars in beef sales.
The suit against Winfrey was filed under a relatively new Texas law intended to protect agricultural products from false statements. Similar laws have been passed in 13 other states.
The trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 20.
Other defendants are Winfrey's production company, Harpo Productions Inc.; the show's distributor, King World Productions Inc.; and talk-show guest Howard Lyman, a vegetarian activist who appeared on the 1996 show.
The other plaintiffs are Cactus Feeders Inc., Perryton Feeders Inc., Maltese Cross Cattle Co., Bravo Cattle Co., Alpha 3 Cattle Co., Dripping Springs Inc., and the Texas Beef Group.
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