Oprah Pal Gayle King Sued by Orly the Matchmaker Over Free Dates

By Cynthia Hsu, Esq. on September 21, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Oprah's best pal Gayle King has been sued by "Orly the Matchmaker," whose real name is Orly Hadida.

Hadida claims she set King up with a number of "attractive, fit and wealthy men" two years ago. Her fee for her professional matchmaking services normally runs for a hefty $500,000.

Hadida alleges that she waived the six-figure fee when King promised her a coveted spot on Oprah's talk show. But it never happened, and now Gayle King has been sued.

Once Hadida heard that Oprah was winding down the operations on her show. She then sent off an email to King demanding payment for her services, pointing out that she was clearly never going to be able to appear on "Oprah."

King still hasn't submitted a payment for the matchmaking services despite the email, according to The Daily Mail.

Does the professional matchmaker have a case?

She might, depending on what kind of agreement they had. If they agreed to an oral contract and King never delivered on her end of the bargain, Hadida may be able to recover monetary damages for breach of contract.

Contracts don't necessarily need to be in writing to be enforceable. Oral contracts can be enforceable so long as they meet certain requirements and don't violate the statute of frauds.

The statute of frauds is a legal doctrine that deems certain contracts need to be in writing. Generally, contracts that fall under the statute of frauds are those that govern the sale of real estate, or those that will take more than a year to complete.

Sure, it's difficult to get on Oprah. And convincing a court of an oral agreement won't be easy. Gayle King being sued by "Orly the Matchmaker" is only the first step in the litigation. The second step will be to provide evidence and proof that the contract existed - and that King breached her end of the bargain.

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