How does 'No, We are preparing for an event' =Racism4Oprah?

I'm sorry, am I missing something?

I could see people deriving this from her(Oprah) being refused service if the store was open and others were shopping. But, they were CLOSED! If it was that important to her she should have had her people call ahead to ask if she could shop after hours.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, I know we have discussed this ad nauseum already. But I just saw this story on AOL.

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/business/article.adp?id=20050628192509990032&ncid=NWS00010000000001

This is really pissing me off!

I'm a person of color-I'm not seeing racism here. Is she going to cry racism, just because her money and (alleged) power couldn't influence her way into a store AFTER they were closed, WHEN they were preparing for a private event? :wtf:

How does someone saying,"no" under such circumstances equal racism?

I'm So OVER her and her pretentiousness! She's behaving like a spoiled child denied their toy or something...

the store "having trouble with North Africans." That's disputed, though.

Now, if Oprah was being denied entry into the store on the basis of her skin color, that's one thing. But the store was closed. If it's closed, it's closed. She should deal with it and shut her mouth.

well then, I think Oprah may be the ass.

No offense to Oprah fans.

She's out of her fucking mind.

I guess it's true, money does change some people, and not in a good way.

birthday party!

Damn, she did a special on the needs of children in Africa, collects donations from her viewers yet she spends millions on her own birthday party for a hundred close friends.

Give me a break -- use the money for the good of society, not for yourself you rich, spoiled brat.

He prints a popular magazine that frequently covers O's shindigs. He was equally disgusted by this one!

she wastes millions on her own party. If that is not ego, I don't know what is.

Let your dh know that I respect the difficulty of his job, to have to cover those shindigs and not call the great "O" on her ego. He has more restraint than I have. :pals:

could have their panties in a bunch over something that occured while a store was CLOSED!?!

Again...

:wtf:

And she says it was the most humiliating experience of her life?

Well then she should thank her lucky stars. Some of us have been treated poorly DURING store hours, by stores of far lesser quality than Hermes...

:grr:

Oprah has done a lot of wonderful things for people and has used her influence and appeal for good many times.

Unfortunately, she doesn't seem to be immune to that well-known celebrity disease of self-important hubris in this case.

Celebrities get so used to being worshipped that they really do forget they're merely human like the rest of us -- and a large part of that is our fault as viewers and fans for letting them get so narcissistic and arrogant.

Hopefully, she'll pay attention to some honest feedback and will snap back into reality.

that some of the bigger stars prefer to shop in private and ALWAYS accomodate them. Oprah certainly has enough money to buy the entire store if she wanted to and anybody in business should jump at the chance to let someone like that in their store...no matter what circumstances. If you have read anything from Oprah's people, you would have read that there other people shopping in the store. It had only supposedly been closed for 15 min. Anyway, I'm just saying that we've read the official statements from the store, let's wait and hear both sides. I'm interested to hear Oprah's version of events. If the store said we are closed because we are preparing for a private event, that is one thing. But to tell Oprah and crew that they could not come in because they were closed and they had been having a lot of problems with North Africans, than that is entirely another.

I don't think that someone of Oprah's fame/respect level would call the Hermes people racists for no reason. Does not compute.

Oprah does not strike me as the kind of person to say this just for fun. Certainly there have been other occasions where she could have played the race card--and she hasn't. She could have used it during the beef trial, for example.

I don't think an inability to buy a stupid scarf or bag would have triggered this whole thing.


We don't have all the information.

I have to be honest in that I've been displeased with her for some time.

I get the distinct impression she is buying into her own press. She contradicts herself on her show quite a bit and is obnoxious in the level of name dropping and self self promoting she now does. It's just gross and unattractive.

The qualities that she possessed that made me like her and made me want to watch her show, just aren't there anymore.

For me, this incident is a symptom of a bigger problem with her...

I apologize if I am insulting someone that you admire and respect. I just don't like her or respect her anymore.

...while this may be standard celebrity practice HERE in the USA, we don't know what it is in Paris. Even if it is something they do there, there may be another side to their side too.

Having worked retail, sometimes people are still finishing up shopping while the store is closed. They aren't just going to tell them, 'get out we just closed.' They will allow them to finish up.

MAYBE they didn't want to let someone of Oprah's (ahem) stature in as it may have taken them that much LONGER to clear out the other guests who may have also recognized O in all her glory--wanting to linger, ask for autographs, etc. Maybe they assessed their situation of having an event and having O at the door 15 mins. after closing and made a judgement call that was best for THEM.

especially a high end store, you are going to bend over backwards for someone like Oprah even if she wanted in at midnight. No matter what time she's in the store, she's spending a boat load of money and the managers can tip off the paparazzi, they can snap some photos of the star shopping in their store and voila! All over magazines and Page Six. Those managers and owners love that type of publicity.

what I'm really going to be interested to see is whether Oprah actually devotes one of her SHOWS to the incident to complain. If so, she's walking off the edge.

The problem fundamentally here is that Oprah's beef is a sort of civil rights thing -- civil rights being based on the supposed equality of all human beings before the law. And there very well MAY have been racism involved in the store's decision not to re-open. But no average, non-celebrity person, black or white, could demand a store re-open for them 15 minutes after the fact. The only way Oprah has a complaint here is that she has to argue that CELEBRITIES have PRIVILEGES others don't have, (not "rights", which we ALL have)-- and given the especial status of celebrities and the privileges they enjoy as part of their status, Hermes violated her by denying her those privileges, (allegedly, because she was black.)

Privilege and right don't mix very well.

I will be interested to see if she does a show as well.

I can only speak from nearly 2 decades in sales and retail. As a professional salesperson, I not only would have let her in, but I would have waited on her and her crew hand and foot. I would have done that because it would have benefited me. Not because I wanted to impress Oprah. Although I do have to admit that I would be thrilled to have a conversation with her. But as a salesperson, if I worked on commission, I would be ecstatic to be getting "paid" and I would see to it they had the most attentive service possible and I would have stayed as late as they wanted. If not commission based (the salary would have to be very comfortable), I would have treated them the same way because the client would be pleased and likely to return. Besides, who wouldn't want a chance for their product to be seen on her show or featured in magazines? If I could help garner that type of publicity for my store......management is pleased and I'm sittin' on easy street.

I'm just saying', I think the sales people f***** up all the way around.

not celebs, but people with money who want to shop. Most higher end stores will stay open or even let a customer shop in private if they know there's real money to be made.

I think the store screwed up big time in this case.

I doubt that Oprah in Paris = OPRAH, Queen of America and North Star of Wisdom to Generations of American Women. The person did not know who she was obviously. One cannot cals Page Six about someone one does not know.

That aside, if it was open and she was turned away that was wrong. But if it was closed, tough Opie.

I have to say, when I have seen Oprah around she was perfectly polite.

she had just recently bought about 10 of their Burkin bags which retail between $2000-$10,000. She had been a faithful client of Hermes. I don't know what happened here, but if I were the owner of the store, I would make sure that my clients that spent mega bucks and are billionaires would be allowed to shop whenever they wanted.
I am not saying Oprah didn't overreact b/c I don't know the details, but the store made a mistake on their part money wise.

I have to confess my ignorence of French daytime tleevision. I think I should keep my yap shut until I know all the details.

Per her website:

The Oprah Winfrey Show has remained the number one talk show for 18 consecutive seasons*. Produced by her own production company, Harpo Productions, Inc., the show is seen by an estimated 30 million viewers a week in the United States** and is broadcast internationally in 111 countries.


http://www.oprah.com/about/press/about_press_bio.jhtml

Something tells me that France is one of those countries.

they were setting up for a private event, which made it look like there were people in the store. they were employees.

This may have been a bad business decision for Hermes, but honestly, if an un-made up, casually dressed Oprah knocked on your door, would you recognize her? I wouldn't.

And yes, it's standard practice, but it's also standard practice to call ahead and make a reservation. not just show up and expect admittance. Let's remember that this was the Hermes store in Paris, no Chicago, why would they recognize Oprah Winfrey by sight if they didn't know she was coming?

If the host of the highest-rated show on French television showed up at your doorstep, would you even recognize him/her? The manager at Hermes probably saw an obnoxious rich American wanting special treatment. This probably wouldn't have happened in any store in the U.S.

The people shopping inside may have gotten in before it was closed.

In that case, many stores will turn away people who arrive after closing but won't force people already inside and shopping to leave.

at about 7:oo one evening. Two big guys were standing in front and wouldn't let us in because they were closed for a private party. Neither my son nor I were humiliated. A little pissed yes, because we had walked quite a way and it was raining.

Anyhow, this is a true story and was the first thing I thought of when I heard Ophra's idiotic comment. She needs to get over herself at this point and come down to earth with the rest of we mere mortals.

Thanks for sharing this, I will visit that when I go there.

How was the rest of your trip?

in St Germaine,visited Versailles, the Louvre, the Rodin and Picasso museum. We drank a lot of wine and ate like our lives depended upon it. Viva la France!!

excerpt: ''The presumption in America is that if you have the wealth, you'll get equality - but where's Oprah's equality?''

Excuse me. She wants special treatment, then bitches about equality???

If this dump is so high end and upscale, she can get her high end over there during normal hours and shop with the rest of the upscale crowd. Hermes has other customers as wealthy as she is.

shopping away while this was going on.

I'm just saying that it's normal procedure for stars to come in after hours because it's easier on everyone involved. And the store certainly wants her money.

I don't think it's pretentious. In fact, it may actually be more courteous.

Except the employees who have to stay after hours.

35 hour workweek and all that.

maybe someone would volunteer to switch their schedule, come in later than usual the day Oprah's coming. But why do all that? It's not as if HERMES is standing full of riff raff they have to get rid of before the "beautiful people" can enter.

IMO, Oprah's acting like she's more elite than the elite who shop there. It's possible the alleged "shoppers" her entourage saw were actually selecting items that had something to do with the 'event', and weren't shoppers at all.

Thanks for the heads up on French labor laws, BTW. :)

was pretentious. I mean to imply SHE is pretentious. Period.

Her shows USED to be slated toward the everyday person. NOT anymore. She has designers on her show the average housewife couldn't afford in five lifetimes, and then she says flippant things like, "sometimes you have to treat yourself, right girls..." :wtf:

She falls over herself dropping details from her latest celebrity party or personal dinner party.

We GET IT! You have celebrity friends! We KNOW this is your peer group now!

A more graceful, secure person wouldn't NEED to talk about it incessantly. Or to fawn all over the celebs she has on the show...

Again, not feeling sorry for her.

She seems to have lost whatever shred of perspective she once had. Personally, she lost me when she disdainfully deplored fake flowers for home decor as tacky on her show while showing off her own personal gardener who coordinates the flowers he grows for her in her huge garden with her interior color schemes. Talk about tacky. I'll take fake flowers over disgustingly ostentatious displays of wealth on ones own talk show thank you very much Oprah.

She very well may have been slighted by Hermes. But, to raise such a stink and expect everyone to feel such outrage when most of us will never afford more than a glance into one of their stores is disgusting, really.

excerpt:

Excuse me. She wants special treatment, then bitches about equality???

If this dump is so high end and upscale, she can get her high end over there during normal hours and shop with the rest of the upscale crowd. Hermes has other customers as wealthy as she is.

:applause:

As far as I'm concerned her 'racism' claim is cheapening the reality of racism some experience every day of their ordinairy lives. Forgive me for NOT feeling sorry for Oprah.

Forgiveness is unnecessary, IMO.

Hermes caters to the wealthy during their usual business hours.


Her being there would be no more extra special than say, Queen Noor of Jordan, Queeen Latifa, Elizabeth Taylor, Snoop Dog, Bono, Sting, or any number of other world famous people. I haven't heard any of them complain.

worked at a bookstore in one of the malls. One morning before the store opened who should approach the store manager but Bruce Willis, who was there making a film.

He asked her if it would be at all possible to enter the store prior to opening (since he ran into her getting her coffee), so he could shop. She said no, as she hadn't received prior clearance from corporate, blah,blah, etc.

Bruce I'm sure was bummed,but he understood and respected her policies.

Did he make a stink, did he pull a 'do you know who I am'?, did his people let the press know, to give the stoe bad press, no. Dude entered the store when it opened and shopped. Yes, he was approached for autographs and the like and the mgr. felt kinda bad about that.

Bottom line, he wanted some books and he bought books, when the store opened--no fuss about it.

Maybe they had the courtesy to shop during regular hours. :)

If they didn't let Oprah in because of that whole "north africans" thing that has been bandied about, then the store personnel acted offensively.

If they didn't let Oprah in because the store was closed, then they weren't being discriminatory, but they weren't being very smart either, from a customer service point of view.

Haven't you ever had a store employee apologize to you even if they really didn't do anything wrong? "I'm sorry, we are out of your size." "I'm sorry, we aren't open on Mondays." etc.

that they were unable to accommodate her at that time. We don't know that no one said they were sorry at the door. I imagine they probably did.

The 'North African' thing is a rumour that's been bandied about,but hasn't been a part of any of the press I've read on this topic (on the internet-which I trust more than msm).

The issue to me is was she embarassed because she was turned away,and told no (after hours) or was it that she didn't get her way and she's 'THE ALMIGHTY Oprah' and how dare ANYONE deny OPRAH.

I'm going with the last one. I've seen and heard little glimpses of that attitude from her on her show and the after show. The sad thing is that she thinks she's so big that she doesn't have to be kind anymore...

She hadn't had her hair done and no one recognized her as a celebrity.

So, yeah, sure, if they store people really thought she was an anonymous black woman and didn't let her in because of it, I'd call that racism.

But it's beginning to sound like a "she said/he said" situation.

So, yeah, sure, if they store people really thought she was an anonymous black woman and didn't let her in because of it, I'd call that racism.

Should their policies come into question for letting ANYONE in, black, white, brown or otherwise 15 mins. after closing?

If it was anyone else that was black, other than Oprah, would anyone even care?

I read it was closing early for a special occasion.

If so, then I think at least a sign on the door would have been appropriate.

I read about this last week when it happened and today I saw the store's side of it.

I don't really trust Oprah anymore, so I'm not really taking sides. I don't actually trust the store's PR people either.

her in because the store was closed how is that racism? I would bet all of Oprah's money that if my anonymous white butt showed up outside of Hermes after closing I wouldn't be let in either.


She spoke to three people at the store, the guard, a clerk and the manager. I am betting that she mentioned her name at least once.
I think it is probably a case of old money Europe not caring about new American money or celebrity.

Hermes is not a flashy celebrity driven line like Versace. The manager might not have cared one bit about her being "Oprah".

They get a lot of their free advertising here in America with celebrities carrying their bags. And shows like Sex and the City talking about the Hermes Birkin bag. And to most designers, celebrities are their biggest asset whether they are American or not. I wouldn't give them the credit of being snobby to American money. Money = money no matter where you are.

If it was closing for a special occasion, it seems to me someone could have gone to the door or a sign could have been posted stating this.

If you've got the green, that's all that matter. She's around the bend on this.
The Professor

at this point, Green is practically Oprah's middle name. So if that's all that matters, they should have let her in!

But you are so right that she's around the bend on this. See post 21? :)

But, i will say that a high line store is not going to be starstruck by Oprah or anyone else. So, if they had some reason the store needed to be shutdown for the day, then i guess she just showed up the wrong day.

This is hardly a case of racial discrimination. And, if that store really could have opened its doors to her, given her cash flow, they would have. Somehow or other, they just couldn't do it. Perhaps some other incredibly rich people were shopping in a private environment based upon an appointment made in advance.

Hmmmm. Is that discrimination, or just an example of what happens when entitlement leads to bad manners.
The Professor

"Designer handbag manufacturers Hermes has issued a public apology to Oprah Winfrey after she was turned away by shop assistants amid accusations of racism. The US talk show host was refused entry to the Paris boutique last week after staff reportedly mistook her for a local thief, telling the stunned star they had been "having problems with North Africans".

Link: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/celebrity/46882004.htm

I'm just saying that we haven't heard a single thing directly from Oprah. I'm going to reserve my judgement until I hear both sides of the story.

She is the first African-American female to become a billionaire. That is impressive in ways I cannot even begin to measure. I've never heard a single malicious story about her and I'm going to reserve judgement for now.

:)

I think it's amazing that Oprah has achieved all she has as well. I wish I could still admire her.

I'm not knocking you or your choice to reserve judgement on this matter. I think that it's admirable of you to do so.

Sometimes I just wonder if anyone would make the big to do about things if they happened to anyone other than her...

:think:

Gail King (who was there)and she had some things to say. She said Oprah was completely humiliated. People were in the store shopping. And that she hopes Oprah does a show. I would like to see a show so we can know why she was so upset. We don't know for sure if it was because she thinks "oh, I am Oprah. I can do whatever I want and how dare they not let Oprah in".

Gail King (who was there)and she had some things to say. She said Oprah was completely humiliated.

This term and the way it is being used is bothering me.

I think it was obvious that i'm extrapolating from prior knowledge. Save your indignation for a topic that really matters to the greater good.
The Professor

Racism my backside. She's just cheesed because she couldn't buy her way into the store after it was closed. Rich people are used to using their money as a tool, and when it doesn't work they use some convenient excuse to explain the failure.



''The presumption in America is that if you have the wealth, you'll get equality


That's not equality, that's favoritism! The wealthy are getting privileges that the middle class and poor are not getting...how is that equality???:eyes:

she has so much and yet blows something so silly out of proportion. So they don't idolize her in France. Big deal. She really needs to look in the mirror and see the type of person she is turning into. How silly to turn this into a race issue! All for not being able to throw away the kind of money on a watch that most people spend on-what?-a car or a house (have no idea what Hermes watches cost) that she may wear maybe one week out of the year?! :eyes:

Give me a break Oprah. You need a reality check.

Call up Maya Angelou, Dr Phil or Iyanla Vanzant-they'll set you straight. Or better yet, go shop at Walmart and see how the rest of us shop and the poor quality of the shopping experience we're stuck with.

Oprah Battles High-End French Boutique Racism




:rofl:

thanks...

:rofl:

Oprah may very well be the wealthiest and most successful African-American but that's here, in the U.S.

However, there are plenty of millionaires of darker complexions living in France (I can think of quite a few famous soccer players). It's not like France does not have its share of wealthy people of color... I am sure some have visited Hermes.

In addition, aren't most north Africans lighter skinned? The whole thing makes no sense. The truth is probably more likely to have been that the store was closed or closing and that Oprah was not let in after hours, regardless of her skin color.

She's as bad as WalMart in that regard -- their entire business plan is built on poverty.

In Oprahworld, every woman needs a makeover, and every man is a dog.

It's a little like if Larry Flynt was claiming that many people have a problem with him because he's in a wheelchair, not because of his line of business. But I doubt we'll hear this from whine of reasoning Larry.

Oprah is so fucking out of touch with reality, when she gets the tiniest whiff of it (like this incident) she goes off the rails, crying racism. My Oprah clipping service expired a while back, but I do seem to recall this isn't her first incident along these lines.

"Oprah is as bad as Wal-Mart"? Give me a fucking break.

It seems as if there are a whole lot of people doing a lot of Oprah hating because she a) has more money than anyone on this board can image and b) has obtained incredible success.

But I guess because she's been so successful, we better just sit around and tear that woman down and put her back in her place where she belongs. I mean, who the hell does she think she is? She should be down here with us. Nevermind the facts of the case. Nevermind that only one side of the story has been released. She must be in the wrong because she's wealthy.

Seriously. This board is so disappointing tonight/today. Everyone is so judgemental.

...or any of the rest of them. But they are all part of the problem rather than part of the solution. The difference between their destructive power and WalMart's is more a matter of methodology than anything.

I don't begrudge creative people their wealth, but Oprah doesn't create, she consumes.

I do begrudge fortunes made on exploitation of people or "the people" -- and I don't cotton to the fact that her financial success makes Oprah a better person than anyone else, even if she could buy and sell the people on this board. Does Dick Cheney's massive wealth mean we shouldn't criticize him? So I guess in that sense, call it class warfare...but thanks to apologists like you seem to be, it's only called class warfare when it's directed upward.

We're hearing HER side of this stupid story, aren't we? Isn't SHE the one who decided to make an issue out of this, running to the media the minute someone failed to kiss her ass in the style to which she has become accustomed?

If this store has been having a crime problem of any description, they would be idiots to open the doors after hours to somebody who didn't have the sense or courtesy to call ahead and make arrangements. They don't need to put their staff or store at risk for the chance to sell a few more items. Hermes doesn't need Oprah's money that bad.

She is the one being spiteful, trying to ruin the reputation of this store based on her sense of privilege. I wouldn't shed many tears if Hermes goes out of business, but I'd rather see that happen due to this becoming a world where instead of paying $6000 for a purse, people will put that money to a productive use to make the world a better place.

And I'm sure Oprah supports many worthwhile causes, yadda yadda, but I doubt if too much of it happens without a photographer/video crew standing by...

(Stepping back over and picking up the pipe.... bubble bubble)

I'm not going to continue to argue with you about class warfare. You are right...all rich people must be bad. Give me a freakin' break. And if you watched her show for one minute you would see that it is decidedly different than Springer or other shows. I believe that she does have much better intentions and really does try to make the world a better place. She has had a huge impact thru the years and I don't think it's been a negative impact. But how you can sit here and compare her with a business that has driven every small business owner in small town USA completely out of business or how you could compare her to a business that does 600 billion dollars a year with China is totally beyond me.

And no, we have not heard her story. I encourage you to show me one single statement attributed to Oprah herself. Just one. But hey, don't let the facts get in the way of your hatin' rich people.

Pan fried in a little garlic butter, with some fava beans and a nice Cianti...

of course, my doctor tells me to stay away from rich foods, so I do.

Just kidding. No, I haven't tracked down every detail on this Oprasode, and I'll admit I'm talking based on how the story's represented in this thread and the linked story featuring various Oprah mouthpieces and other alarmists. The most humiliating event of her life? Has she forgotten "Beloved"?

Oprah is on the side of WalMart and their ilk by creating the notion that your only value is that of consumer, and the more you're able to consume, the better you are. Whether it's promoting a $150 Hermes teacup, or a $29 DVD player, it's nuance. You are not your fucking khakis.

I hate rich people who complain about not being treated specially, and whine about not being able to fucking go SHOPPING when it's convenient for them. I hate that this story is even occupying space in the media while Bushco dismantles America and wrecks the world. Oh, but Bush is rich, so it must be OK, right?

Her fans are going to try to turn her into Rosa Parks over this non-event. Yeah, and Michael Jackson is Martin Luther King, Jr.

I'm going to go watch Fight Club again... you can go re-read Atlas Shrugged.

After she made a ton of money, and the others started to get radically wierd, she, in the 90's, fired her producer and started to assume the moral high ground. There was a lot of publicity about it at the time. Her first real money was made in the mud with everyone else.

Don't get me wrong, racism is a nasty and sickening plague on our society, but it seems the once again Americans are pissing and moaning about how another country is acting.
In this case I think they were closed and Oprah wanted the treatment she gets in the country that filled her bank accounts, but she was in France instead. Here is my idea to anyone who doesn't like the store's policy..don't go to France and shop at that store.
The more that is made of this the more other places on the earth will think we are arrogant idiots who want everyone to be just like us.

Edit: spelin arror fixed

I don't want to see our relations with France marred because of ONE person. I'm tired of hearing about American's arrogance and inability to assimilate when in other countries, and to respect their cultural mores.

You would think one that goes on about how 'cultured' she is, would know this.

Whenever something happens like this in another country, it's the Americans yelling "racism", "homophobic" and other knee-jerk reactions. The truth is, not every country is as closed minded as ours.
When that woman went missing in Aruba, everyone here was yelling "racism" because they busted some black guys. I posted some reaction from some of the people there and it was basically that they don't have the racism that America does. They didn't understand why Americans were looking at it as racism because they don't see color like we do. It just so happened that some guards who were fired and were reported to be seen around the hotel she was at were black.
This seems to be the same case. Oprah is black and these people were closing shop and she was angry. It turns into some story that because Oprah is black the French didn't let her in to the closed store. It's the Americans that are being racists, not the French.

I enjoyed reading your post!

:bounce:

At least someone reads my posts..lol.

Or any other white celebrity showed up at the door, I'm 99% sure they would have been welcomed in.

What with all the persecution of Scientology going around

:think:

What has he been thinking of late?

who should shut her goddamn mouth and crawl into a hole somewhere and do her philapnthropy and stop making issues where there are no issues, and stop crying her fake fucking tears.

Fuck you, Oprah, you big fat fake fuck.

:evilgrin:

What if this happened to Puffy, or J-lo or Russell Simmons or Ludacris? Would anyone even give credence to the racism claims?

Especially if it was a thugish looking, gangster rapper?

I don't understand why some people just take EVERYTHING Oprah says as gospel.

When did she become a sacred cow (no pun intended) of our society?

If the store employees let her in did they have to let everyone else that knocked in? Anyone know?

"A special treatment for celebrities can be understandable, for example to avoid a crowd of fans yelling and crying in front of the entrance (someone who has never seen Madonna entering Jean-Paul Gaultier shop in passage Vivienne has no idea of what a riot is).

The problem is that Oprah is totally unknown here. She is definitely not a celebrity in France. This justification of a special treatment is inadequate.

So when a shop is closed, it is closed. What ever her skin color is.
Besides, I suggest anyone believing in this myth to go to Hermes, and watch who is entering the shop. And carefully notice if anyone is refused because of a color matter. I'm very interested on hearing about such facts.

The anti-racism laws are strong in France, so I suggest too to Oprah to file a suit against Hermes for racial discrimination"

:shrug:

this--the more I am liking France!

Imagine, going somewhere that doesn't worship at Oprah's feet the way people here in America seem to.

Oprah says and the follow her every word like she is a god or something. I read that Oprah is planning on telling her side of the story when she comes back to make new episodes of her show, telling people to boycott Hermes. How fu**ing out of reality does this woman have to be to think that even a tiny fraction of the people who watch her show can afford a Hermes bag? All of the fashion that Oprah endorses (that ive seen) is stuff that the average American can't afford. But they will put in on their credit cards because Oprah says its a 'must have'. All this will lead to is more French bashing and everyone saying how rude and arrogant the French are and how we need to boycott their stuff. I am so glad Hermes didn't bow down and let her in the store - I am sick of celebrities thinking that they deserve special privilages and her turning this into a racial issue is just stupid. The video tape of the incident confirms that Hermes account of what happened was the truth, and not that of Oprah's friend.

I was thinking I was the ONLY person (well, me and my dh) that felt this way about Oprah. It's nice to know I'm not.

Which isn't to say that I want to form a anti-O club or anything. I just get so sick of anything and everything she says becoming gospel, like she is the wisest woman in the world. Last I checked she still is human like the rest of us.

'Bout time she started cluing in to that herself,imo.

shops are Hermes? Every single religious viewer of the show could stop shopping at Hermes tommorow, and it would not affect their bottom line at all. Guess what? not a lot of people who shop at Hermes watch day time talk shows, I'm thinking.

the Parisians I've talked to do not understand what the big deal is about.

1- a great many Parisians don't give a rat's ass who the hell Oprah is. She isn't really famous here, she isn't likely to get kid glove treatment anywhere in this city

2- one of the great things I've noticed about Paris is how ethnically diverse the city is. The French have amazing anti-discrimination and equality laws. I've not once seen the blatant discrimination against people of color here in Paris that I see very damn day in Boston.

3- who the hell wants a Hermes scarf anyway? They are horribly unattractive- I don't care how expensive they are!!!!

I'm serious,the more I hear about Paris, the more I want to go there!

Last night I was thinking about the black artists that relocated to Paris, prior to the civil rights movement (i.e. Josephine Baker, James Baldwin).

I doubt they would have lived their entire lives in a place where they didn't have MORE equality than they found here in the States.

I'm in an IR relationship--there are times I would love nothing more than to go somewhere like England or France where people are just people. Oddly, we STILL get looks here in the 'liberal' USof A.

:sarcasm:

Do enjoy your visit! :hi: