Regine Velasquez made headlines last week after she revealed in her YouTube vlog that she once felt snubbed at a Louis Vuitton store in New York. In case you missed it: The Asia's Songbird, who is known for her love for designer shoes, recalled the incident and said that she went to the store to look for a pair of shoes she was dying to buy. She said she encountered one of LV's sales reps outside the store and asked to try on the pair she was eyeing.
"And when I got there, nakita ko na!" Regine said. "Nandoon sa display! Sa umpisa pa lang, sinabi sa akin, wala akong size. Sinabi ko, 'Can I at least try them on?'"
Regine then said she wasn't even allowed to try on the shoes! "Na-discriminate ako, ang lola niyo," she said. "So na-depress ako nang very, very [slight]."
In a segment on a recent episode of Tonight With Boy Abunda, it was reported that Louis Vuitton actually sent Regine flowers after the issue blew up. The report said, "Ayon sa management ni Regine, nagpadala ng mga bulaklak ang Luis Vuitton sa Songbird in response to her revelation about her shopping experience at an LV store in New York."
No further deets were revealed about LV's gesture.
In the same episode, Regine talked about the incident in more detail, along with Sharon Cuneta, whom she is co-headlining the two-day Iconic concert this weekend.
"I went to Louis Vuitton in New York. I was so interested in this particular style of shoes I wanted. Pinagipunan ko talaga. I wanted to get it. So pagdating ko 'dun sa pintuan pa lang, hindi na ako pinapasok. Sabi niya [the LV rep], 'No, I don't think we have your size.' At saka nakaharang talaga siya doon."
"Sa akin, okay, if you don't want to entertain me, I'll find somebody else [to accommodate me], at papakita ko talaga sa kanya, bibilhan ko yung tao na 'yon. Iyon na lang ang comeback ko!"
Sharon revealed that she also experienced discrimination while shopping abroad-three times to be exact. One of which was in a Cartier store in Hong Kong: "[My outfit] was very simple, shirt lang and jeans. I said, 'Excuse me.' 'I'm not finished yet! I'm doing ganyan ganyan.' I was so angry, there was another sales rep who was very nice, and I ended up buying things that I didn't really need because I was so angry."
Regine went on to say that there is really no need to discriminate anyone from purchasing things they want to buy for themselves, no matter how they look and what they wear. "Yung purpose mo is really to treat yourself to something nice. You work so hard for that so you can also buy something pretty for yourself."
"No one can fault you for buying something expensive because you worked for it," Sharon added.
