Oprah worked hard on Lance Q&A, says King

Oprah worked hard on Lance Q&A, says King

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Oprah Winfrey (r.) did intense preparation for her interview with Lance Armstrong (l.), says Gayle King.

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Oprah Winfrey nailing the much-anticipated Lance Armstrong interview came down to a last-minute decision on his part, leaving the talk show queen less than a week to prepare for the intense interview, Winfrey’s best friend, Gayle King, tells Confidenti@l.

“It all just came together for her within the past week,” King told us at the home of Oscar-nominated violinist Joshua Bell on Tuesday for an Education Through Music event. “When I knew she had him, I got her on ‘CBS This Morning’ to promote it. I called her when I first heard. I didn’t wait until she announced it.”

King says Winfrey stayed in and prepared for the interview like it was the most important one of her career â€" and one that could help her struggling network.

“She was really into it. Because it came together so quickly, she knew what an important interview it was for her. She knew the expectation was, ‘Oh, Oprah’s gonna throw him puffballs.’ She also knew that she was going to have to ask the hard questions. And it’s not that she’s not capable of it; she wanted to make sure she was thoroughly prepared.”

When Winfrey, who came armed with 112 questions for the disgraced cyclist, appeared on CBS to promote the Armstrong interview Tuesday, she was cryptic about whether she was happy with the final result, saying Armstrong “did not come clean in the manner [she] expected.”

“That’s what’s so great about her teasers for the interview. It’s hard to tell how Oprah felt, and she did that intentionally. She wants people to watch for themselves,” King says. “She wants people to judge for themselves, but it is a big get and she knew everybody wanted it, and she is happy with it.

“I am so proud and happy for her, and I’m not just saying this because she’s my dearest friend. When people talk about this interview on Friday, they’re gonna say, ‘Wow, Oprah really knocked it out of the park.’ ”

King adds that the former queen of daytime TV still got “a high” from doing the interview, and that Winfrey will be in the editing booth until the very last minute.

“I said, ‘Are you walking on clouds?’ and she said she is still in ‘Operation Lance,’ which is what they’re calling it. As of Tuesday they were still editing and she’s part of that whole process.” The interview will air in two parts on OWN, at 9 p.m. Thursday and continuing on Friday.

HUMPHRIES & CHEBAN: WAR FEARED

Things between Kim Kardashian’s best friend Jonathan Cheban and her 72-day husband Kris Humphries are awkward, to say the least. Matters quickly turned sour after Humphries and Cheban got into it on the last cycle of “Kourtney and Kim take New York,” with the Nets forward demanding on national television to know if Cheban was gay. Cheban wasn’t pleased, but it seems Humphries is the one holding the grudge. The two ran into each other at the General on the Bowery last week, where Humph tried to talk to Cheban â€" in the bathroom â€" says an eyewitness. “Jonathan went to the bathroom with a couple of friends and he passed Kris’ table, so he saw him going down,” says our spy. “Kris and his friend came down and words were exchanged; it was awkward. It’s a small bathroom and they spoke for a minute. Jonathan tried to be the bigger man and shake one of Kris’ friends hands, and the friend snubbe d him.”