After the recent racial profiling case of Oprah Winfrey, Rush Limbaugh was one of the first conservative commentators to get into the screaming match that typically serves to denigrate black people who are victims of racism. Limbaugh, perhaps trying to get ratings for his struggling show, stated that Winfrey was likely the victim of profiling not because of her race, but because she is overweight.
“Maybe it’s because the Oprah’s fat! … Look, don’t most
people think that the fat and the obese are poor and stupid?” Limbaugh said.
Limbaugh’s remarks are over the top in his typical way, and
are referencing Winfrey’s concern about the reaction that a store clerk had
when the mogul asked to be shown a $38,000 handbag during a recent trip to
Zurick. The store, Trois Pommes, got
international attention when one of its clerks didn’t realize that the black
person asking about the bag could have bought the entire company with her
pocket change.
