Oprah Winfrey's supposed ordeal in Zurich is coming more and more under scrutiny. And it seems that her story is starting to show cracks. It doesn't even matter if she is right, the publicity stunt has already gone wrong. Next time, she might talk it over with her public relations team beforehand. There are more positive ways to get in the headlines if you are desperate to get noticed.
Oprah Winfrey was feeling the pinch, and decided she needed to get some headlines to promote her little television network. As Tina Turner has become a very private person in old age, she was hindered from making Tina's marriage a newsworthy item to promote herself. What does the wise woman do? You take something out of context, blow it up, and hey presto, you're in the headlines again. Other fading former stars have to go to the jungle to get noticed a bit.
Going to not English speaking country always gives you the possibility of being misunderstood if you are too stupid or too lazy to learn the local language (and that works the other way round, too). Rather than attributing it to your own inability to master even one more language than English, you cry racism. How convenient. How racist. In Oprah Winfrey's case, the recipient of the unfounded allegation was a poor shop girl earning a few Swiss Francs an hour for all her work. Yes, we are so proud of your hoarded millions, Oprah Winfrey.
Meanwhile, Oprah already had to retract her fabrication publicly. This is what you call a publicity stunt gone wrong. Having millions in the bank (overseas?), the 'I am a poor black woman hounded by racism' wasn't the brightest ploy to brighten her eclipsed stardom. But then, nobody ever accused Oprah Winfrey of being bright. But it makes you wonder what she is paying all the guys and girls in her public relations department for. They could have told her that ages ago.
Meanwhile, that dratted handbag is causing the next storm for Oprah Winfrey. PETA activists have closed in on the bag in question and have identified it as real crocodile leather. They are crying foul, and point at Oprah Winfrey for having chosen that bag after receiving the PETA award in 2008. Are animal activists now racists, too?
What can we expect next in the unraveling of Oprah Winfrey? Will PETA retract its award? Why should it, Barack Obama still holds his Peace Nobel Prize and nobody knows why he got it in the first place, too. More probably, we will get another stupid stunt by Oprah Winfrey herself, as she seems so desperate to get headlines.
Further readingIf Short On Facts, Then InventJLS: Selling Off AstonBeing Politically Incorrect
Oscar presenter James Franco will host his after Oscar party at the Supperclub in the converted Vogue Theatre just 100 yards from the Kodak Theatre. The owners of the Supperclub on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are Jerry Garcia, Abdi Manavi, and Max Loong.
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| Max Loong, presenter |
Oscar Parties usually are held at the most prestigious clubs in Los Angeles. Oscar presenter James Franco has chosen the new Supperclub as the venue for his after Oscars party. The Supperclub opened only in November 2010 but is already on the way to becoming one of the top venues to go to. This may have to do with its concept of entertainment, or it may be down to its location just 100 yards from the Kodak Theatre.
Owners Jerry Garcia, Abdi Manavi, and Max Loong certainly did their homework to make a success of their venture. While Jerry Garcia and Abdi Manavi are of local vintage, the question is: Who is Max Loong?
Max Loong’s father is Malaysian of Chinese descent, his mother is Swiss. The family moved to Switzerland in 1983 where Max did the usual school run. In 2000 aged 20, he landed his first TV job with Swiss private TV station VIVA Swizz. He soon became the face of the station and over three years interviewed over 300 show business A-listers.
In 2004, Max Loong joined the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles as an alumnus. It was during his time there that he met Jerry Garcia and Abdi Manavi. He also had several appearances in independent films while studying.
In 2006, he joined MTV Southeast Asia in Singapore. Amongst other shows, he hosted the award winning MTV Mobbed. Max Loong’s personal website is a typical Swiss understatement. While he names MTV Mobbed as one of the shows he hosted, he forgot to mention that he regularly reached 200 million viewers. I don’t know how many viewers Oprah reaches, but Simon Cowell battles to get 10 million interested. In 2007, Max Loong was for the first time listed amongst the 100 most influential Swiss personalities and received the Elle ‘Breakout Star of the Year’ award.
But while working for MTV, he didn’t let his acting drop out of sight. He played in Swiss and French films and series; with Swiss Television he made a drama series called Adventure Max; and he starred in Singapore’s Emmy nominated comedy series First Class. He has regular engagements in Switzerland and Singapore as well as other Asian countries; and now he has business in Los Angles as well.
Max Loong has family in Switzerland and Malaysia and a girl friend in Singapore, too. This alone would make him clock up air miles like few others, but with his professional engagements now covering the globe, he’ll be able to make use of frequent flyer discounts no end.
Roping Max into the Supperclub was a smart move by Jerry Garcia and Abdi Manavi. From his TV shows, Max knows all the right people in Los Angeles and abroad without seeming to suck up to them by being a local guy; and as a host he should do well, too. When living in Zurich, he usually managed to become the soul of any party he attended without dominating its centre. That would, in my opinion, be the perfect way to host any party. And despite all this, he is refreshingly absent from the gossip pages that sell scandals for news.
And before you run off to book your table at the Supperclub, check the prices!
Further readingStrictly Gay DancingBoxer on Ice
Splash: Tom Daley on ITV 1
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