Regine Velasquez may be Asia’s Songbird, but even she has felt discrimination.
In her vlog, she reminisced about a time in the early 2000s, when she was discriminated against in a luxury store in New York City.
Velasquez recounted going to Louis Vuitton to buy a pair of heels she saw in a magazine. She said, “I went to New York to find [these] particular shoes… And then when I got there, nakita ko na, nandun sa display. Sa umpisa pa lang, sinabi agad sa akin wala akong size… Sinabi talaga. Sabi ko, ‘Can I at least try them on?’ Sabi niya, sabi ng guy, ‘Uh, no.’ Sabi talaga, ganun. Na-discriminate agad ang lola niyo, so na-depress ako ng very very light.”
[“I went to New York to find [these] particular shoes… And then when I got there, I saw it in the display. From the start, the guy said they didn’t have it in my size. I asked, ‘Can I at least try them on?’ He said, ‘Uh, no.’ He really said that. I was discriminated against so I felt lightly depressed.”]
From there, Velasquez went to the Neiman Marcus store nearby. Sadly, she said she felt discriminated again because no one was paying attention to her.
Meron akong nakilalang black guy. Again, I was being discriminated. No one was making me pansin, yung lahat sila nagsusukat. Walang pumapansin sa ‘kin until this guy came to me and then he said, ‘Do you need help?’”
[“I met this black guy. Again, I was being discriminated. No one was taking notice of me, while the others were trying on shoes. Until this guy came to me and then he said, ‘Do you need help?’”]
“Sabi ko, parang maiiyak na ‘ko, ‘Yes, I need help.’ So lahat ng tinuro ko binili ko talaga, so ang happy niya, super happy siya. Samantalang yung bwisit na ibang nandun, nagtitinginan sila kasi yung ibang nagsusukat dun, wala naman binili ‘te“
[“I was about to cry when I said, ‘Yes, I need help. So I bought everything I pointed to. He was super happy. The other employees were staring because the ones they were assisting didn’t even buy anything.'”]
In the end, Velasquez bought 20 pairs of shoes. It doesn’t end there. She went back to Louis Vuitton, carrying all the shoes she bought.
“Nung marami na ‘kong bitbit, pinapasok ako sa loob ng Louis Vuitton at nabili ko siya. ‘Yan ang story ng Louis Vuitton shoes na ito.”
[“I was able to buy the Louis Vuitton shoes when I returned carrying everything. That’s the story of my Louis Vuitton shoes.”]
The singer then showcased the pair of shoes to the viewers. She ended her story with, “You go back and, like, kick some ass, right?”
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