Louis Vuitton sends flowers to Regine Velasquez after ‘discrimination’ incident

MANILA — French fashion house Louis Vuitton has reached out to Regine Velasquez after the Filipino superstar disclosed, in an October 1 vlog, feeling discriminated against when she visited the brand’s store in New York.

The luxury retail company sent flowers to Velasquez “in response to her revelation about the shopping incident,” according to a report from “Tonight with Boy Abunda” that aired Monday, citing the singer’s management.

The program did not mention whether the gift from Louis Vuitton included a message of apology to Velasquez.

Velasquez, along with fellow OPM icon Sharon Cuneta, were the guests in the October 14 episode of “Tonight with Boy Abunda,” ahead of their joint concert dubbed “Iconic.”

The gesture from Louis Vuittion was mentioned in light of Velasquez’s recollection, during the interview, of the discriminatory behavior of a store representative against her.

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“Pintuan pa lang, hindi na ako pinapasok. Sabi niya, ‘No, I don’t think we have your size. Atsaka nakaharang talaga siya doon,” she said.

“Sa akin, okay, if you don’t want to entertain me, I’ll find somebody else [to accommodate me], at papakita ko talaga sa kaniya, bibilhan ko ‘yung tao na ‘yon. Iyon na lang ang comeback ko!” Velasquez added.

Cuneta, who was seated beside Velasquez during the interview, then shared her own experience of being discriminated against when she entered a Hong Kong boutique of Cartier.

“[My outfit] was very simple, shirt lang and jeans. I said, ‘Excuse me.’ ‘I’m not finished yet!’ I was so angry, there was another sales rep who was very nice, and I ended up buying things I didn’t really need because I was so angry,” she said.

Velasquez agreed when Abunda said it’s “inhuman” when certain nationalities are preferred or prioritized less, saying, “Atsaka kung ano man ang hitsura, hindi dapat nagdi-discriminate!”