Oprah Winfrey must defend a defamation¹ case filed against her by the former headmistress of her girls' school in South Africa, a US judge has ruled.

一位美国法官裁定，奥普拉·温弗瑞在南非创办的女子学校的一位前女校长起诉其破坏了自己的名誉。

Oprah Winfrey set up the school after a request from Nelson Mandela

Judge Eduardo Robreno refused to dismiss（解雇，开除） the legal action on Monday, saying Nomvuho Mzamane had enough evidence to pursue her claim.

The star allegedly made remarks about Mzamane in 2007, after sex abuse complaints（埋怨，抱怨） arose at the school.

The trial is now set for 29 March in Philadelphia.

Disadvantaged children

The abuse emerged in 2007, when one girl complained she had been fondled（抚摸，爱抚） while others reported being sworn at（诅咒，咒骂） , grabbed by the neck, beaten or thrown against a wall.

A former matron（护士长，主妇） at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy was later charged with abusing six students.

Mzamane claims that Winfrey made statements to the press and parents at the time, suggesting she was not trustworthy.

Winfrey's lawyers argued that the remarks reflected her opinions, but the judge ruled they were potentially defamatory（诽谤的，中伤的） as they ascribed（归因于，归咎于） "conduct which would render（提出，致使） her [Mzamane] unfit for her profession as an educator".

Winfrey's lawyer, William Hangley, declined to（拒绝） comment on the decision and Mzamane's lawyer was not available for comment.

The school was opened in Johannesburg in 2007 at a cost of $40m (£26.3m).

Winfrey pledged to build the academy after a meeting with former South African President Nelson Mandela in 2002, and personally interviewed many of the South African girls from low-income families who applied² for the initial 150 places at the school.

The US talk-show host has said she was herself abused as a child and has campaigned against abuse in the US.

She described the abuse charges at her school as one of the most devastating³ experiences in her life.