Money talks, but that doesn’t mean everyone is apt to listen.
Case in point: When talk show queen Oprah Winfrey wanted her big name buddies to stay at a ritzy hotel near her gazillion dollar mansion, but was told it was booked for a wedding she flexed her financial muscle. But, it didn’t work as well as she might have wanted it to.
For all you who have been living under a rock (or at least not reading my blogs) the legendary talk show host is hosting a star-studded fundraiser for her “big crush” a.k.a. presidential hopeful Barack Obama at her $65 million California estate next month. Among the Hollywood A-listers expected at the big bash are George Clooney, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, John Travolta, Jeffrey Katzenberg… and the list goes on and on. Apparently, the guest list is so expansive, and for whatever reason $64 million doesn’t buy you enough spare guest rooms, Oprah decided to book suites at nearby upscale San Ysidro Ranch for her visitors. Unfortunately, for the billionairess, the hotel is reportedly hosting a wedding and no rooms were available for Oprah’s BFFs.
But that reportedly didn’t stop the famous Miss O from at least trying to get her way.
“Due to the proximity to and the cachet of the ranch to Oprah Winfrey’s estate, Oprah’s people have been calling the bride to either move or vacate some of the rooms to accommodate her guest list,” an insider told a New York newspaper. “The bride, an attorney, is not budging.”
Saying no to Oprah Winfrey? That takes guts.
For the record hotel managers say Oprah never contacted the bride-to-be (Winfrey’s rep said the same). However, not long after word got out that Oprah had gotten the shaft “magically” the wedding party reportedly cancelled a few rooms, according to hotel managers.
Hmm…
A final word on the big Oprah/Obama shindig: According to reports, the fundraiser will feature some of the tightest security around. No cameras. No stepping foot in Oprah’s home (instead guests will be dining alfresco on blankets under tents), and to avoid a traffic jam of Jags and Mercedes, guests will be required to park at a “greeting center” eight miles away and take a shuttle bus to Winfrey’s estate.