Oprah Winfrey/photo: personal-astrology.com

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. television talk show queen Oprah Winfrey on Monday moved to quash rumors about her relationship with her best friend, saying she is not gay.

In the August issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, the TV star says some people misunderstand her close friendship of 30 years with Gayle King, an editor on the magazine often seen with Winfrey in public.

"I understand why people think we're gay," Winfrey tells the magazine. "There isn't a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women. So I get why people have to label it -- how can you be this close without it being sexual?"

In the article, Winfrey and King, who is divorced with two children, discuss their 30-year friendship and "four-times-a-day phone calls."

The friends say they would have no problem telling the public if they were in a sexual relationship.

"The truth is, if we were gay, we would tell you, because there's nothing wrong with being gay," says King.

King says the rumors used to bother her as "it's hard enough to get a date on Saturday night" but said she doesn't care anymore. Winfrey, 52, who has never been married, agrees.

"I've told nearly everything there is to tell. All my stuff is out there. People think I'd be so ashamed of being gay that I wouldn't admit it? Oh, please."