Oprah show deluged with complaints and accusations of misrepresenting Dubai.
American chat show queen, Oprah Winfrey, was forced to apologize on Monday to an outraged audience for an episode of her show featuring women from around the world in which a guest from Dubai gave false information about life in the dazzling UAE city.
The episode, which aired in October, hosted women from cities like Copenhagen, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul, Tokyo and Dubai, where Dr. Lamees Hamdan spoke to the show via Skype and explained about her life and what living in Dubai was like.
The segment began with a voice-over by Oprah who said: “Thanks to this country’s rich oil supplies, the government provides its citizens with free water, electricity and health care. The best part? No income tax!”
Hamdan went on to explain to the audience that people in Dubai do not pay utility bills, which is incorrect, and said there were no “poor people” in Dubai, overlooking the city’s tens of thousands of unskilled workers from South East Asia.
….The mother of five also caused a stir by saying that the traditional black dress and scarf, known as shela and abaya, was “cultural” and not religious.
Some viewers were also resentful because the interview was conducted via the online phone system Skype, which is blocked in the UAE, but was opened for Hamdan to appear on Oprah’s show.
