OK, so this isn’t exactly the geekiest of news, but it is potentially one of the more earth-shattering entertainment news stories to break in a long time, and so here it is. Oprah Winfrey‘s label Harpo put out the press release today, officially announcing that on September 09, 2011, the very last episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show would air, which will cap off the universally popular talk show’s 25th season. It looks as if Oprah plans to concentrate on her network, OWN, when the show reaches its closure point.

Rumors of the show’s end have risen and faded, risen again and faded again, but never have they ever come to this kind of finality that her seven million daily viewers feared so dearly. As those of us who are not fans and do not watch know, Oprah is about as close to a god on Earth as there is when it comes to her loyal following, so expect many a hearts to be broken by the news. Lives have been changed, perspectives and paths and physical appearances altered, and books — good and bad — have been made into super-hits all by this woman’s hand. Love her or hate her, the end of Oprah is an occurrence of epic proportions.

Click over to the other side to read the press release from Harpo.