People blaming racism for something that has absolutely nothing to do with racism: C/D

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4618227.stm

Paris store apologises to Oprah

Luxury French boutique Hermes has apologised to talk show host Oprah Winfrey after refusing her entry to one of their outlets in Paris.
A friend of Winfrey, who witnessed the incident, said it "one of the most humiliating moments of her life".

Hermes said a private PR event was being prepared so it was unable to accommodate the star at the time.

A spokeswoman for the star's production company called it her "Crash" moment, referring to a race relations film.

Winfrey, 51, who was recently named the most powerful celebrity in the world by business magazine Forbes, has said she is preparing to talk about the incident on her US show.

The hugely successful TV star unsuccessfully tried to access the store after closing time, although shops are known to make special provisions for celebrities.

― Colin McGinn, Friday, 24 June 2005 09:38 (twenty years ago)

According to the Metro this morning, the shop did say that they've "been having problems with North Africans" recently, so I don't know if it's so entirely unrelated.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Friday, 24 June 2005 09:41 (twenty years ago)

americas race problem may be more complicated then a woman who already has 36 birkin bags (retail:ca 5k) getting another, esp. after closing time.

― anthony easton (anthony), Friday, 24 June 2005 09:43 (twenty years ago)

Hmm. I can't quite see how a 51 year old African-American woman could be mistaken for a North African, and I somehow doubt that anyone at Hermès said that to her. Apparently Hermès have denied that and have video to back them up.

― Colin McGinn, Friday, 24 June 2005 09:45 (twenty years ago)

they might have been racist. god knows a lot of paris store people are.

― ppp, Friday, 24 June 2005 09:50 (twenty years ago)

On the one hand, this sucks.

On the other hand, if this ranks up there with the most humiliating moments in Oprah's life, ATTN OPRAH: YOU IS ONE LUCKY LUCKY HO.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 24 June 2005 11:56 (twenty years ago)

What's a HO again? Is it like a hoooer?

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 24 June 2005 11:57 (twenty years ago)

"I can't quite see how a 51 year old African-American woman could be mistaken for a North African"

Well we do all look alike, don't we? Or to snooty French shops selling overpriced scarves we do.

― Stone Monkey (Stone Monkey), Friday, 24 June 2005 12:04 (twenty years ago)

Classic.

― hi dere, Friday, 24 June 2005 12:13 (twenty years ago)

ah well, more money she can spend on mink eyelashes now.

― monsanto and yanni (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 24 June 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)

michael jackson to thread

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 24 June 2005 17:24 (twenty years ago)

"Winfrey's show has featured guests such as the Presleys"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Friday, 24 June 2005 17:27 (twenty years ago)

michael jackson to thread

that's just ignant! you're being ignant!

― monsanto and yanni (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 24 June 2005 17:42 (twenty years ago)

This v. Having yourself depicted as having Dr. Phil's baby on The Chappelle Show?

― Jimmy Mod Is Great At Getting Us Into Trouble (ModJ), Friday, 24 June 2005 17:48 (twenty years ago)

Umm nothing in that article or any other press I've seen on this has made any outright accusations of racism. Someone at Harpo said it was her Crash moment: this throws something out there, but it's pretty far from saying anything specific, especially given the let's say "complexity" of the race-and-class and general-humiliation stuff clattering all around in that film.

― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 24 June 2005 17:48 (twenty years ago)

Beyond which nobody living on our level will ever be able to figure out a damned thing about the etiquette of a situation like this. Maybe it is incredibly insulting for a store like this not to accommodate a millionaire celebrity like Oprah; maybe there was every reason to expect they would, so that declining constituted a serious and notable snub. Maybe they were being completely reasonable and Oprah's people are overreacting a bit. But really, if they're willing to talk to the press about something like this -- something that has the potential to make Oprah look diva-ish in a bad way -- I'd guess that they had every reason to expect service.

― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 24 June 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

This isn't about race. It's about money and celebrity. Oprah may be known by all and sundry here and she has reportedly no less than $225M. In France she's much less well known (though high end retailers should have the sense to know about these things) and when she shows up un-announced 15 minutes after closing time when Hermès have to prep for a private, pre-arranged party, they wouldn't let her in. Her friend complained that there were people inside shopping but Hermès were letting them finish their shopping while letting no-one new in to bleed off their remaining customers. Used to people fawning over her and her money, Oprah's shocked that these people won't. I predict that America will use this as another reason to hate the 'arrogant French' and that France will use this as another reason to hate the 'arrogant Americans'. I'm relatively certain that this has nothing to do with race, per se, though. I've seen lots of Africans at Hermès before and I'm sure Oprah exuded wealth sufficiently to otherwise be well treated. She's just feeling the snub of not being a huge celebrity there.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 24 June 2005 18:00 (twenty years ago)

i'm putting my stick in michael's scenario

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 24 June 2005 18:06 (twenty years ago)

haha OMG i mean "stock"

or do i?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 24 June 2005 18:06 (twenty years ago)

wow

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 24 June 2005 18:06 (twenty years ago)

http://www.theatrebreaks.com/partydilemmas/frenchman.gif
La Oprah, she eez no Jerr-ee Lew-ee!

― Huk-L, Friday, 24 June 2005 18:07 (twenty years ago)

Amateurist! Don't try getting your stick anywhere near my scenario.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 24 June 2005 18:09 (twenty years ago)

dude, the french do NOT like jerry lewis anymore!

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 24 June 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)

I love that despite Fête de la Musique and other accomplishments, Lang is mostly remembered (globally at least) for having bestowed the Légion d’Honneur on Lewis.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 24 June 2005 18:15 (twenty years ago)

Surely Crash is about money and celebrity as well as race.

It's being asked to carry a whole lot of weight on this thread: is it really that good?

― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 24 June 2005 18:29 (twenty years ago)

Crash is about women who be shoppin?

― ryan duelberg (duelberg), Friday, 24 June 2005 18:34 (twenty years ago)

I think Oprah's handler was referring to Cronenberg's Crash.

― Huk-L, Friday, 24 June 2005 18:39 (twenty years ago)

crash was horrible (the recent movie that is).

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 24 June 2005 18:55 (twenty years ago)

"I think Oprah's handler was referring to Cronenberg's Crash."

The sequence were Holly Hunter and James Spader are car shopping?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 24 June 2005 19:12 (twenty years ago)

Oh, I get it. This is about Oprah's sexy leg wound.

― ryan duelberg (duelberg), Friday, 24 June 2005 19:32 (twenty years ago)

God, if you're listening please have Jean Claude Van Damme try to get a book out of this library 15 minutes after we close.

― miccio (miccio), Friday, 24 June 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

don't let him kick me though.

― miccio (miccio), Friday, 24 June 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

van damme's not french...

― Richard K (Richard K), Friday, 24 June 2005 20:59 (twenty years ago)

Il est Belge, une fois.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 24 June 2005 21:00 (twenty years ago)

"the muscles from Brussels"

― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 24 June 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

Ask him what he thinks of Goodfellas!

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 24 June 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

http://myspace-143.vo.llnwd.net/00136/34/17/136987143_m.gif

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 24 June 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

I was once accused of racsim by the head resident of my dorm my freshman year of college for not finding "The Cosby Show" to be the zenith of human accomplishment.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 24 June 2005 21:18 (twenty years ago)

That sounds about right.

― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 24 June 2005 21:20 (twenty years ago)

Actually when I was a kid I was shocked to learn that this other kid in my neighborhood didn't watch the Cosby Show: his family watched some horrible white-people sitcom some other network had thrown away into the slot opposite Cosby. He said his family just didn't like the Cosby Show. At the time I was baffled. If they'd been watching documentaries or news instead, fine, but watching a whole other clearly-inferior sitcom? So a few years later I decided they must have had some kind of problem with black people.

― nabisco (nabisco), Friday, 24 June 2005 21:27 (twenty years ago)

Is there a thread about that Cosby book Dyson wrote on ILE yet?

― deej.., Friday, 24 June 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

the Cosby Show totally sucked.

Frank's Place was where it was AT!

― Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, 24 June 2005 21:44 (twenty years ago)

I hated the Cosby show, but then at that age, I hated television generally.

― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 24 June 2005 21:45 (twenty years ago)

I hate people who come into my store at closing time.

― tokyo nursery school: afternoon session (rosemary), Saturday, 25 June 2005 00:49 (twenty years ago)

My point wasn't that "the Cosby Show" sucked, but rather that I had a problem with the fact (as I saw it) that Bill carried the show. I didn't find the other characters all that compelling, thus I didn't think it was the greatest fucking thing since sliced bread, and being that I was -- surprise -- somewhat vocal with this opinion, our head resident immediately assumed I was a racist. I didn't think "Newhart" was too hot either, but that fact didn't seem to affect her flatly ludicrous argument. By the same rationale, I could've branded her a racist being that she didn't own any albums by the Circle Jerks.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 25 June 2005 01:56 (twenty years ago)

The only time I can remember anyone accusing me of racism was a (white) work colleague, after I'd described one of those black board things that people write on with chalk as a 'blackboard'. My position was that it was black, it was a board, the correct word for it was 'blackboard', and there was no sense in which 'black' was used in a derogatory sense - it wasn't an evil or inferior version of other kinds of board.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 25 June 2005 08:58 (twenty years ago)

political correctness in schools: blackboard became chalkboard. it isn't as silly as the banning of the word "brainstorm" in favour of "thoughtshower" (brainstorm might be offensive to epileptics)

― Slumpman (Slump Man), Saturday, 25 June 2005 09:26 (twenty years ago)

Thoughtshower sounds like the name of a Prog Rock supergroup

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 25 June 2005 09:37 (twenty years ago)

A *Christian* prog-rock supergroup.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Saturday, 25 June 2005 09:44 (twenty years ago)

A Christian prog-rock supergroup that ilx jokily pretends to like, to hide themselves from the absurd fact that they are ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD and EVERYONE KNOWS IT

― mark s (mark s), Saturday, 25 June 2005 10:25 (twenty years ago)

http://tn3.deviantart.com/300W/i/2002/1/a/e/thought_shower.jpg

― Slumpman (Slump Man), Saturday, 25 June 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)

Thoughtshower = light brainwashing session

― Paul outta Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Saturday, 25 June 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

Really the Crash reference says more about the incident than anything else. That movie is so stupid and shrill.

― Eric H: not a troll, with one exception (Eric H.), Saturday, 25 June 2005 14:53 (twenty years ago)

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