Filipino Celebrities Snubbed While Shopping Abroad

What’s the common experience of these celebrities? They were turned away while shopping for designer items.

Recently, Filipino actress Sharon Cuneta was allegedly snubbed in an Hermés store in Seoul, South Korea. The famous “Megastar” was listed as one of Blueprint.PH’s hit trending topics among female celebrities. In a travel vlog, the Megastar shared the ala-Julia Roberts Pretty Woman moment when she was prohibited from entering the boutique.

Photo from Bandera

Sharon Cuneta is a Philippine household name and regarded as one of the most successful and highest-earning individuals in its entertainment industry. She clarified that she knew about the COVID-19 protocols of the store. But she isn’t the first Filipino celebrity to be snubbed while shopping in exclusive, luxury designer boutiques.

1. Sharon Cuneta

Can you believe that the Hermés incident wasn’t the first time Cuneta was turned away? She had a similar incident in Cartier store in Hong Kong. She revealed during a TV guesting at Tonight with Boy Abunda that it actually happened to her several times already while shopping overseas. That time in particular, Sharon said she was dressed very simple—”Shirt lang and jeans!” The singer politely inquired about an item but was cut off rudely by a sales representative who refused to attend to her.

Photo from images.summitmedia-digital.com

“There was another sales rep that was very nice and I ended up buying things that I didn’t really need because I was so angry,” Sharon revealed. “Ako galit ako pag Pilipino inaapi eh.” Recently, when Hermés didn’t allow her to enter, she went to a Louis Vuitton boutique instead. She claimed that she only wanted to buy a belt in Hermés but ended up indulging in shopping in Louis Vuitton with photographed multiple shopping bags. On her way out, she passed by the Hermes doorman who earlier refused her entry and told him, “Look! I [bought] everything!” You do you, Megastar!

2. Regine Velasquez

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The Asia’s Songbird also wasn’t immune to discrimination. She narrated on her YouTube channel that she was once discriminated against in Louis Vuitton. The story was “I went to New York to find this particular pair of shoes. I went to the Louis Vuitton there because it was the biggest store. I was so excited because it was a tour, so I couldn’t wait to go to New York to get these freaking shoes! When I got there, I saw that it was on display,” Velasquez said. She added that the store wouldn’t even let her try on the shoes.

“Na-discriminate agad ang lola niyo so na-depress ako ng very, very light,” she added. So what else was there to do? Regine went to the Neiman Marcus store across from Louis Vuitton and ended up buying 20 pairs! Upon carrying her shopping bags, she went back to Louis Vuitton and they let her in the store, and she finally purchased the original pair she wanted!

3. Jessy Mendiola

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On her YouTube channel, Jessy Mendiola shared her traumatizing experience on discrimination that eventually led her to shop luxury items with personal shoppers instead of the actual store.

On two accounts, Jessy was snubbed by Chanel. The 28-year-old actress, who explained in her unboxing vlog revealed that her first attempt to buy a Chanel bag in Paris resulted in an embarrassing ordeal. “Pumasok ako tapos nagtanong ako sa isang sales associate if may mga available na classic flap bags. Tiningnan niya ko from head to toe tapos hindi niya ko pinansin. Medyo napahiya ako. Ang ginawa ko na lang umalis na lang ako, kasi siyempre ‘di ba bakit ka pa pupunta dun, bakit ka pa bibili ng bag kung gaganunin ka lang din naman? Bibili naman ako.” The second was in another Chanel store in Taiwan, resulting in yet another disappointing experience. “Yung second naman, sa Taiwan, nagpunta ko sa isang Chanel store kasi gusto ko naman bumili ng wallet at saka sunglasses from Chanel,” says the actress, who even had photos prepared in her phone for reference and called on a sales associate for help. “Pinakita ko yung pictures na gusto ko, tapos di man lang niya tiningnan yung phone ko tapos dinaan-daanan lang niya ko. Wala naman tao nun. Ayun, medyo na-traumatize na ko.

Cover photo from freepik.com