In a blog on the Huffington Post site, Jong said she shared the idea with Goodhousekeeping editor-in-chief Ellen Levine in a meeting.

Joanna Powell, the entertainment editor of the women's lifestyle magazine, said the editorial team was brainstorming about cover story ideas and she suggested putting Oprah on the cover every month all the time. Levine reportedly followed up the idea by meeting up with Winfrey's representatives.

Powell says she never heard about a meeting between Jong and Levine. A spokeswoman of O: the Oprah Magazine said, "A great idea has many fathers, or mothers, in this case."