The highest court in France found cosmetics giant, L’Oréal, guilty of racial discrimination after it was reported that advertising reps for the company refused to hire non-white spokesmodels for their new haircare line, ‘Fructis Style.’
“…word went out that Garnier’s hostesses should be BBR — “bleu, blanc, rouge” — the colours of the French flag. The expression is widely recognised in the French recruitment world as a code for white French people born to white French parents…in effect excluding the four million or so members of ethnic minorities in France.”
French high court, la Cour de Cassation, found L’Oréal’s policy illegal under French employment laws, further tarnishing the beauty mogul’s image (which was already dealt a blow last year after being accused of lightening Beyonce’s skin for one of their ad campaigns).
What’s really busting us up, though, is that L’Oréal has seemingly gone to great lengths to feature ladies of color in their ads, like Kerry Washington, Penélope Cruz, Aishwarya Rai, and Eva Longoria.
Too bad, L’Oréal! Looks like your undercover racist jig is up.
Always fabulous Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz have been slated to become the most recent addition to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in Hollywood.
Frankly, we’d be all for this odd tribute if it weren’t for two things: one, the last waxy renditions we saw featured Bolivian President Evo Morales being plagued by some unfortunate midgetry.
Second, we’re a little afraid that a lazy-handed wax sculptor might be working under the assumption that all Latinas look alike.
In any case, there’s one reassuring facet to all this - Salma’s waxy wardrobe has already been confirmed as a duplicate of one of her elaborate Frida costumes.
The injury that kept Javier Bardem away from Penelope’s big Oscar day is finally getting taken care of.
Yesterday, the tasty Spaniard underwent surgery for a herniated disc that likely developed on the set of his new movie, “Biutiful.”
Javier reportedly underwent surgery at the Institute of Neuroscience in Hanover, Germany. And what’s more, it is rumored that secret girlfriend Penelope Cruz has remained at his side throughout his hospital stay to attend to his affairs and dish out some much-needed loving.
¡Que cute! Here’s hoping Javier makes a speedy recovery.
Word on the street is that our beloved Penélope Cruz is getting replaced as the face of MANGO by vanilla pudding Scarlett Johansson!
If some of you will remember our reviews of “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” you’ll know that we’re no fans of ScarJo, so news that she’s moving into the slot that Penélope has held for four years doesn’t sit very well with us.
However, according to the people at MANGO, Scarlett has been picked as their new ad face because she “embodies the ideal MANGO woman: chic, independent, and cosmopolitan.”
No word yet on whether or not Penélope and sister Mónica will continue designing for the line, but here’s hoping they at least stick around for that!
How is it that Oscar winning actress Penélope Cruz ends up feeling insecure in front of the camera?
According to the gorgeous Spaniard, its not all that uncommon for her to be racked with nerves whenever she’s on a new project:
“Cada vez que hago una película me siento insegura, y siento miedo. Eso es parte del modo en que trabajo. Si un día estoy en el set y me siento demasiado segura, eso realmente me asustaría.”
Well, its nice to know that, in spite of all her cinematic success, Penélope is still keeping it real with genuine human emotion, and that she hasn’t gone completely diva on us!
For those, like us, who cannot get enough Penélope, next musical by director Bob Marshall will be a daydream come true.
In Nine (to be released November 25, 2009), Penélope plays the mistress of a movie director in the midst of a middle age crisis.
With all the right garments strapped to the right parts, Cruz will perform a pulse stopping erotic choreography that promises to keep us all at the edge of the screen.
Click below to check out the official trailer for “Nine,” starring Penélope Cruz, Daniel Day Lewis, Marion Cotillard, and Nicole Kidman.
The latest in the now legendary Pedro Almodóvar/Penélope Cruz pairing -”Abrazos Rotos“- officially arrived at the Cannes Film Festival today.
The cast came out for a waterfront photocall, reminiscent of the last time we was Penélope at Cannes.
After all, it was one year ago that the lovely española arrived promoting “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” eventually going on to win Oscar gold.
But what’s really causing news at Cannes? The fact that Penélope got hit with some wicked stomach problems and had to cancel all her other promotional commitments for her other movie, “Nine.” Apparently, the pobrecita accidentally ate some expired food and had to seek immediate medical care. Damn!
Oh, the technological drama that plagues chismosos like us! Some of you may have noticed that we were experiencing some issues this morning, but we’re back online now, ready to fill you in all the drama of the day.
But in order to make it up to you, please enjoy some eye candy courtesy of our favorite Spaniard, Penélope Cruz, on this month’s cover of French ELLE magazine.
…comes word that Penélope Cruz has been named to TIME magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2009. That makes the third list of ‘mosts’ we’ve had in a week!
And writing a loving blurb about the Oscar-winning actress is her “Elegy” co-star, Sir Ben Kingsley:
“Between “Action!” and “Cut!” she serves her character with all the stamina, tenacity and technique of a champion marathon athlete. Always the character first, her ego second. We see the pure character take life before our eyes — never a copy of a copy but startlingly authentic and original, and forever drawing upon her profound grasp of female mythology.”
Click here to read more about Penélope and the rest of the 100, including Rafa Nadal, and Barack and Michelle Obama.
Our beloved Salma Hayek celebrated her second wedding this weekend with a lavish Venetian ceremony this weekend, and we’ve been scrounging up as much info on it as possible!
Follow the jump to read more about Salma’s weekend in Venice…
