Oprah Winfrey might actually want to go to Dubai next time she reports on the place.
Last month, as part of her recent “Women Around the World” series, the talk show queen conducted an interview via Skype with Dr. Lamees Hamdan, a Dubai mother of four who owns Shiffa, a line of high-end skin-care products.
In the online introduction to the segment, Oprah’s team writes of the United Arab Emirates: “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!”
Although Dubai residents aren’t subject to income tax, there is no support for the other claims. Reaction on the Internet was immediate — and harsh. “Free water, electricity, and health care — eh, not quite!,” the blog Transracial wrote. A commenter on the UAE-based paper 7Days added: “Had a chuckle watching Oprah last night — good to see the world’s most highly paid TV star does her research properly . . . not!”
Many Arab-world viewers also objected to the outfit Hamdan wore on the air — a tunic, but not a sheila, the national headdress. Hamdan referred to her decision to forego the sheila as a “cultural” and not a “religious” one, upsetting some viewers, according to Gulfnews.com.
Another issue was that the interview was conducted via Skype: The Web-based phone system is banned in the UAE, though the rule was waived for Oprah’s segment.
A spokesman for Harpo, Oprah’s production company, told Page Six, “It was never the intention of the ‘Oprah’ show to misrepresent the people of Dubai. Dr. Hamdan appeared live on our program to speak about her personal life experience as a citizen of Dubai. We apologize if any of our viewers were offended.”