Did Oprah Winfrey Ask an Australian Shop to Remove Blackface Dolls?
Remember how Harry Connick Jr. guest-judged an Australian talent competition TV show last year, and was put in the awkward position of having to tell a Jackson 5 tribute band in full-on blackface that their act was wildly offensive? You may not, but Oprah Winfrey -- who flew 300 screaming fans Down Under last week -- probably does, and she's allegedly hellbent on eradicating the country's racist traditions, one golliwog "washerwoman" doll at a time.
After a 15-hour flight and meet-and-greet with one koala fan, Oprah apparently asked a local shop to remove their collection of blackfaced dolls. Upon realizing that there was a number of these dolls -- with names like "Jenny Girl" (pictured right) and "Jerome Boy" -- on open display in the store where Oprah would be hosting a cocktail party later that week, Harpo Productions made special arrangements with the storeowner to remove the dolls.
Said a source close to the situation, "Oprah's people came ... and yes it was discussed. As a result, they won't have that particular doll on display. But there will be plenty of other gollies when they come through."
A spokeswoman for Winfrey declined to comment, but Tourism Victoria claims neither it, nor Harpo Productions, told the shop owner to remove the dolls.
[via Eurweb.com]
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Comments
I've seen dolls like this in Australian stores. Little antique shops down the coast. However, it's important to remember that the American context for this kind of thing is not universal. Many Australians probably wouldn't even realize that golliwogs are meant to depict black people, much less that they might be offensive. They'd just see them as dolls. However, as this store is hosting a party for Harpo it's pretty unbelievable that the store didn't anticipate this would be a problem.
As for the Hey Hey It's Saturday thing? Very different. Those people were unbelievably stupid, and deliberately mocked the Jacksons on the basis of their simply being black. Connick Jr was too kind.