Filed under: Celebrity News, News
As part of her Australian adventure, for some reason Oprah Winfrey thought it was important for her lucky troupe of 300 viewers to visit the Dafel Dolls And Bear Shop in Melbourne. Who knows? Perhaps this store has a cultural legacy that makes it of critical importance to visit when one goes to Australia. But Ms. Winfrey was shocked and disturbed when her producers discovered that this store makes some of its money by promoting one of the most unflattering stereotypes of black women in history: the mammy. Yet, she visited the store anyway. Hip Hop Wired offers a summary of what occurred: An Australian store was forced to remove seemingly racist dolls called "Mamee Dolls" to prepare for a visit from Oprah Winfrey.
As previously reported, Winfrey and her audience on an eight-day Aussie adventure as part of her 'Favorite Things' segment give-away.
According to the Herald Sun, the talk show mogul and her 300 guests were scheduled to visit The Dafel Dolls And Bear Shop in Melbourne when her producers requested that the store's "Mamee" dolls be removed from the shelves.
The Mamee dolls show a dark skinned African-American woman with red lipstick, wearing a maid costume and a scarf around her head.
The store owner reportedly obliged and the dolls were removed.
See more pictures of the offensive "Mamee Dolls" on Hip Hop Wired.
It is very curious that Oprah did not cut a store like this from her travel itinerary. Usually when the black community confronts a business that parlays in negative images that hurt our members, we make every effort to bring the affront to light and plan to boycott the company. It's great that Oprah has the clout to get the dolls removed from the shelves of the Dafel Dolls And Bear Shop in Melbourne temporarily, but what about after the camera crews leave? She will be giving her viewers the wrong impression that this is a store that supports American values, which include not promoting overtly racist images. At the very least, if black people are inspired to visit Australia and that store because of her show, they will be in for quite a shock.
Australia is known as a place that is very racist against its own indigenous people. Thus, it's no shock that Australians are not culturally sensitive to blacks, leading to a major store that would stock "mamee dolls." What comes as a shock is Oprah promoting such a horrible store on her influential show. How could Oprah consent to big up a business that would sell mammy dolls as part of its regular inventory? There is no logical explanation for this. I am embarrassed for Oprah, her producers and the show. I wonder what other culturally insensitive things she will experience while on her Australia trip that she will seek to hide from American audiences.