Hanoi Jane
Cindy Williams
John Wayne
Tommy Hilfiger
Mel Gibson
Carlin
Fonda
Hamblin
Kangaroo
King
Bad American
|
Tommy Hilfiger Makes Racist
Remarks On Oprah HOAX - Includes FAKE Maya Angelou Poem About This
Hoax
The message about
Tommy Hilfiger making racist statements is absolutely false from top
to bottom. This is a real person that is being libeled and
labeled with outright lies. This lie seemed to have died down
a couple of years ago and now, it is back, since very few people
will take a few minutes to check out information before hitting the
forward button. Surely no Christian will want to take part in
slander, libel, rumor-mongering and gossip.
Several versions of
this hoax have appeared since 1996 and none are true. These versions
have had him appearing on all sorts of shows making these
statements. Hilfiger has never appeared on Oprah, and Oprah herself
has tried to debunk this false information on her program in January
of 1999.
A similar rumor was
sent around about Liz Claiborne. It added that she admitted to
being a Satanist! Of course, none of it was true.
Another article actually forced one fledgling clothing company out
of business. Troop Sport was popular among the urban crowd
until a rumor began circulating that it was owned by the KKK.
It was actually founded by a Jewish man hardly
material for the KKK. The supposed Maya Angelou poem
(see info below) now has this information attributed to Timberland
Shoes, and, once again, the owner is Jewish.
Timberland was
founded in 1952 by Nathan Swartz (Jewish). It remained a
family-owned business until 1987, when Sidney Swartz (Nathan's son)
took the company public. Timberland now trades on the New York Stock
Exchange under the ticker symbol TBL, and in 2000 its consolidated
revenue totaled $1.1 billion.
Sidney Swartz is
the current Chairman, and his grandson, Jeffrey Swartz is President
and Chief Executive Officer. As of March 28, 2003, the Swartz
family, together with trusts and a charitable foundation established
by the family, held approximately 46% of Timberland stock and
approximately 82% of voting power. Jeffrey Swartz (the grandson of
the founder and Timberland's President and CEO) has been a member of
the board of City Year, the national youth organization that
provides community service in 13 U.S. cities, since 1991 and its
chair since 1994. He is also a director of several social justice
organizations, including Business for Social Responsibility and
Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston.
Most recently I
have seen these rumors resurrected in the form of a poem claiming to
be written by the great Maya Angelou. Her management agency
confirmed to hoax research site Truth or Fiction that she did not
write the slanderous piece. The poem denigrates Claiborne, Hilfiger,
transfers the Troop Sport KKK rumor to Timberland Shoes (see above
info on both), and also
denigrates a host of other designers as well as homosexuals
(something Angelou would NOT do). One look at Angelou's poetry
is enough to convince anyone that she did not write this and she has
denied it. How can anyone read her work and think that she
would write such slanderous and racist drivel? It's intention
seems to be to play up FUBU, a black-owned clothing designer
company.
Let's use a little
common sense here, too. ANY manufacturer of clothing knows
that anybody can and will buy their clothing at stores and they are
especially thrilled at having celebs of any ethnic background
wearing their clothing. They want to make money and don't care
if the person buying the clothing is purple. It stretches the
imagination to think that anyone in this day and age would believe
that only white people are upper middle class and have money.
In fact, it would be ridiculous to believe that anyone who had ever
walked in a mall or watched a TV could think that all blacks,
Hispanics and Asians were poor. Certainly a celebrity like
Hilfiger wouldn't. If Mr. Hilfiger said that he made his
clothing for certain body types and they didn't look good on other
body types, that might make sense (isn't this what they all do
anyway?). His clothing is certainly NOT made for plus size
women or men (As a plus size woman I can certainly affirm that)!
Saying that his clothing didn't look good on certain races wouldn't
make any sense at all. One would have to assume that he is a
complete idiot to believe that all upper middle class white people
are built the same, and all persons of other races built another
way. Only the color of a piece of clothing would be affected by a
person's skin coloring or hair color (you ought to see me in orange
- yuk!). Mr. Hilfiger is not an idiot or someone who lives a
hermited life. He's out there with all the other celeb's of
every race. So are Liz Claiborne and the rest.
Hilfiger used to
have an article on this hoax on his website. As of August,
2005, it had been removed. Most likely he figures that his
reality TV show has shown the world that the rumor is ludicrous.
It took only a few
minutes to track down all of this truthful information: If you think
that such things don't harm people, please read the following pages.
At the height of its popularity, this particular lie had people
boycotting Hilfiger clothing. Whoever originally started this
rumor probably had it in for this clothing line.
Articles
Snopes
Urban
Legends & Folklore
Truth Or
Fiction Hoax
Info
NY
Times
Truth
Or Fiction (Angelou Poem)
Snopes
(Angelou Poem)
Message as it is currently circulating:
TOMMY HILFIGER..... Don't buy your next shirt or
perfume from Tommy Hilfiger I'm sure many of you watched the recent taping
of the Oprah Winfrey show where her guest was Tommy Hilfiger. On the show,
she asked him if the statements about race he was accused of were true.
Statements like "...if I'd known African-Americans, Hispanics, Jewish
and Asians would buy my clothes, I would not have made them so nice. I
wish these people would *NOT* buy my clothes as they are made for upper
class white people." His answer to Oprah was a simple
"YES". Where after she immediately asked him to leave her show.
My suggestion? Let's give him what he asked for. Let's not buy his clothes,
let's put him in a financial state where he himself will not be able to afford
the ridiculous prices he puts on his clothes.
PLEASE SEND THIS MESSAGE TO ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO SPENDS THEIR HARD EARNED MONEY
ON CLOTHES MADE BY SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT RESPECT THEM AS A PERSON, OR
PEOPLE IN GENERAL FOR WHO THEY ARE DESPITE THEIR RACE !!
Here is the currently circulating faked Maya Angelou
Poem:
Clothes
You are in love with Tommy,
Because his last name is Hilfiger,
But behind closed doors, Tommy,
Is calling you a nigger,
But you could care less,
Because you have been taught to dress to impress,
If I ask you about your true history,
You would have to look on the back of your jeans and Guess,
You come up in the club wearing versace,
Clothes made by a homosexual male,
So even when you say you are straight,
It is very hard to tell,
And for footwear, you wear Timberlands,
Even under the sun,
That some tree that the symbol for them,
Could have been the same one your ancestors were hung from,
I cannot forget Nautica,
When was the last memory you have of ships,
Coming to North America in shackles,
Being beaten over the back with whips,
And to my beautiful black queens,
Whose creative womb has become barren,
I am confused because your face says Nefertiti,
But your sweater reads Donna Karen,
When was the last time you saw Liz Claiborne,
Conversing with black women,
But as soon as her name is printed on a purse,
To Macy's you quickly go, running,
Ralph Lauren doesn't even look at black men,
Unless they are driving him around town,
But as soon as that slave master appears on the back of a horse,
You put whatever you have picked up down,
My people reclaim your status in this world and in your life, Fubu
in case you didn't know, stand for (For Us By Us,)
Buying black will someday suffice,
Do you know who owns Timberland fashion?
Well, Timberland is owned by the president of the KKK,
Surprised? Don't be. Read more books black people,
Always hope for the best and prepare for the worst,
You may not get what you pay for,
But you'll surely pay for what you get.
Maya Angelou |
|
