OPRAH- It's Not Because You Were Black! Get the Hell Over It! (lame)

[JimSox5]

Even if they did recognize Oprah, why are they under any obligation whatsoever to open the store for her or anybody else after closing time? If the worst thing that ever happened to her was that she wasn’t given the power of celebrity in a foreign country, then, well, to quote Duck Duck Goose,

@Duck Duck Goose

then your bio must be totally wrong…

[marymargaret]

I can’t wait to see how this plays out on her show in the fall.

[Gangster_Octopus]

@Sampiro

So which is the more likely explanation:

1- The clerks/security-guard recognized Oprah (because, after all, only low-browed ignorant cretins don’t recognize every American pop-culture icon) and knew that she is a billionaire with access to a media pulpit to tens of millions of people, but they just soooooooooooooooooo hate the idea of their merchandise being carried by somebody with African ancestry that they decided to say “Go way!” and catapalted a metaphorical cow in her direction, hang the consequences

or

2= The clerks/security-guard honestly did not recognize her, had instructions not to let anybody in after hours except by special permission or appointment (by her own case, Oprah had neither), and were simply doing their job

As for the “Maybe the store people thought she was a North African shoplifter” allegation above, here’s a little known fact: most shoplifters shoplift when the store is OPEN. Oh sure, maybe if you’re Rex Reed or Hedy Lamarr or Winona Ryder you can have your people call ahead and say “My celebrity client would like to steal some of your merchandise but doesn’t want a big press stink when s/he gets arrested… could you open the store late for us and just kind of look the other way until they go through the detectors?”, but for your regular Joe and Jane Shoplifter it’s during regular business hours.

Also, had Tina Turner (who is undeniably famous in France) or Michael Jackson or even Denzel Washington or some other very famous, very wealthy African-American shown up, you can almost guarantee they’d have been allowed in. OTOH, had you or I or even one of the stars of Yes Dear (a show that I’m pretty sure isn’t seen in France) shown up, we’d have been snootily told to come back tomorrow. This is not about class but about money, purely and simply.

I agree, it is at this point I find the Occam’s Razor on my swiss army knife very handy.

[Duke_of_Rat]

@Sampiro

So which is the more likely explanation:

.

3. They did recognize her and were not in awe of her celebrity, and didn’t give a rat’s ass what race she was. The store was closed and they, being snooty French*, told her to buzz off. Oprah plays the race card for sympathy.
   *French people may or may not be snooty, I’ve never been to France, but what’s a race rant without some preconceived stereotypes.

they decided to say “Go way!” and catapalted a metaphorical cow in her direction

Better be careful flinging beef at Oprah, even though she might end up being right

[brickbacon]

@Duck Duck Goose

3. I too found the “This is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me!” a little bit hard to swallow, given the speaker’s history of childhood sexual abuse, her constant and public struggles with her weight and love life, and her against-all-odds clawing her way to the top in an industry that anybody with any sense realizes is a nature-red-in-tooth-and-claw jungle, and one furthermore which historically has not been kind to females, or blacks. I thought, “Babe, if being denied admittance to a tony store after hours is the worst thing that’s ever happened to you, then your bio must be totally wrong…”

She didn’t say “worst”, she supposedly said “one of the most humiliating”. There is a difference. I doubt most people would describe being molested as humiliating. It’s also worth noting that Oprah has never publicly said that, her friend relayed the message. Assuming her account is true, being discriminated against because of your race, and assumed to be a North African thief when you are really a world famous billionaire is pretty humiliating on many different levels. That’s not to mention seeing all these people take joy out of you receiving your comeuppance when you feel you were wronged is also very embarrassing.

[World_Eater]

@marymargaret

I can’t wait to see how this plays out on her show in the fall.

Seriously. Will anyone even care by then?

[Miller]

@brickbacon

I doubt most people would describe being molested as humiliating.

I’m hardly an expert on the subject (thank God) but I’m pretty sure that’s almost entirely incorrect.

[Zabali_Clawbane]

A news story I saw said Oprah wasn’t making a big fuss about it, that others jumped to conclusions and won’t stop hysterically screaming about it, attributing words to her that she never said. I can understand that they were a bit put out at first, and that probably upon thinking, they realized that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed at first, but by that time it was too late, they’d griped in public. I think that the incident got a momentum all it’s own, and that Oprah can’t put on the brakes because it’s out of her hands now. Veiw the clip “Hermes rejects Oprah” on this page, you will have to do a search for “Oprah” to find it, it keeps wanting to play a clip on Tom Cruise instead.

[descamisado]

@Zabali_Clawbane

A news story I saw said Oprah wasn’t making a big fuss about it, that others jumped to conclusions and won’t stop hysterically screaming about it, attributing words to her that she never said. I can understand that they were a bit put out at first, and that probably upon thinking, they realized that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed at first, but by that time it was too late, they’d griped in public. I think that the incident got a momentum all it’s own, and that Oprah can’t put on the brakes because it’s out of her hands now. Veiw the clip “Hermes rejects Oprah” on this page, you will have to do a search for “Oprah” to find it, it keeps wanting to play a clip on Tom Cruise instead.

Why do I find this funny, in a “pop culture, you get the news you deserve” kind of way?

[Guinastasia]

@brickbacon

She didn’t say “worst”, she supposedly said “one of the most humiliating”. There is a difference. I doubt most people would describe being molested as humiliating. It’s also worth noting that Oprah has never publicly said that, her friend relayed the message. Assuming her account is true, being discriminated against because of your race, and assumed to be a North African thief when you are really a world famous billionaire is pretty humiliating on many different levels. That’s not to mention seeing all these people take joy out of you receiving your comeuppance when you feel you were wronged is also very embarrassing.

So Oprah being denied entrance to a CLOSED store is somehow more humiliating and horrid than a young boy sent against his will to an “ex gay” camp?

You know, brickbacon, you’re a real piece of work.

[clairobscur]

@Liberal

According to Agence France-Presse, that’s not true. Her empire is global, and her show airs in more than 100 countries, including France. The store clerks recognized her.

I read three times the article and I can’t see anywhere where it’s stated that :

-The store clerk recognized her

-Her show is broadcasted in France.

I never ever heard of this person before reading this board. Never any mention of any appearance on french TV. I googled the french pages using the words “Oprah” and “television”, and besides numerous comment about this Hermes stuff, and a mention of her appearing in a movie, I didn’t notice any mention of his show being broadcasted in France (of course, I didn’t read all the links. Now, it’s possible there are some satellite or cable TV broadcasting american talkshows, and it could include her, but if so, it must be some very obscure channel.

[JimSox5]

This coming from a Parisian, who I would think would know more of Oprah’s “status” in France than anybody else who’s chipped in to this thread, and maybe anybody else on the board.

[Carol_the_Impaler]

How did this story get into the press in the first place? Did it come from Oprah’s people? Did it come from witnesses, what?

[clairobscur]

@Liberal

Okay, so let me get this straight. We know that her show airs in France. We know that the clerks recognized her. So our default assumption should be that “the French DON’T KNOW WHO OPRAH IS”? Or was there some other reason that you’re attacking my response to that statement?

I eventually noticed the mention about the strore clerck recognizing her. But no mention of the show being broadcasted in france.

I also took the pain of reading ten different accounts of the incident on french online press releases. All mention her being an american TV star, none mention her show being broadcasted in France. I also found the following comment on a french blog :

“Je ne sais même pas pourquoi j’en parle, personne ne connaît Oprah en France, ce n’est qu’une vulgaire touriste américaine qui fait des caprices” (I don’t even know why i’m speaking about this. Nobody knows her in France, it’s just a regular american tourist who’s throwing a tantrum").

[SkipMagic]

@clairobscur

I eventually noticed the mention about the strore clerck recognizing her. But no mention of the show being broadcasted in france.

The clerks recognizing Oprah is the assertion of Oprah’s spokeswoman (in your linked article). I’m not saying she’s wrong, but I haven’t seen where Hermes agrees with that.

[ScoobyTX]

I can’t imagine that Oprah would be taken to be North African. Aren’t most people of NA descent much lighter skinned? I’m thinking of every Morrocan, Tunisian, Egyptian, and Libyan I can think of, and can’t think of any that would be confused with someone of primarily sub-Saharan African descent, but I could be wrong.

[Sampiro]

To me it ultimately boils down to “She’s hecked off because she got the same treatment that anybody on this board (who isn’t world famous) would have gotten”.

Frankly, if she had walked from her studio across the street to a Chucky Cheese where the hostess had called her by name but told her “you can’t come in because we’re closed- the people in here are here for Don Rickles’ grandson’s birthday party”, it wouldn’t be racism. It’s capitalism. The store has the right to open its doors to whoever it sees fit when it’s outside of normal business hours.

Now if she had entered Hermes during normal business hours and been treated rudely or been refused service, THEN she’d have merit in a complaint.

As is she’s reminding me of the obese old lady who went to Athens in the same tour as a good friend of mine and complained that the Acropolis (which doesn’t have a ski lift or elevator for obvious reasons) didn’t comply with the People With Disabilities Act- i.e. spoiled American tourist.

[Stoid]

I absolutely adore Oprah, I think she has done FAR more good in the world than Mother Theresa ever dreamed of…and I love the OP. I was absolutely mortified when I heard this, and I pray that someone in Oprah’s world can talk some sense into her and prevent her from pursuing this and putting a terrible stain on her own reputation. I’ve always counted on her to have good sense about when racism is real and when it isn’t.

Sheesh. Even if they WERE racist, which I do not believe…the bottom line is that she wanted special treatment to begin with. Get the fuck over yourself, girlfriend, no one cares.

[Eve]

@Stoid

I absolutely adore Oprah, I think she has done FAR more good in the world than Mother Theresa ever dreamed of…

. . . Well, you won’t get any argument from me on that!

[Harborwolf]

@Stoid

I absolutely adore Oprah, I think she has done FAR more good in the world than Mother Theresa ever dreamed of…

I’ll have you know that Mother Theresa was famous the world over for giving the lepers new cars, books, and designer handbags