Designer Who? Part Deux

‘Linda was not well-prepared’

PERHAPS it was not just the dress that made Linda Onn refuse to show up to co-host the 79th Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Star TV’s associate vice-president for South East Asia, Nini Yusof, claimed that Linda Onn’s no show was because the radio deejay was just not well-prepared to host the red-carpet event.

“A day before the event, we asked Linda to rehearse for the show but the producer was not satisfied with her performance and spontaneity.

“So we asked her to rehearse again in the morning before the start of the event,” Nini said.

Nini’s comments were carried in Kosmo!

Era FM deejay Linda had been slated to co-host the awards ceremony with Channel V presenter Dominic Lau for Star TV but she backed out at the last minute, saying that she had not been allowed to wear the dress of her choice.

She had planned to wear a black and white kebaya by Jovian Mandagie, an Indonesian designer, but was asked to wear an outfit by Malaysian designer Radzuan Radzi will instead - which she said was an unflattering skin colour, did not fit her properly and was too revealing.

Linda also said that she received Radzuan’s outfit only an hour before she was due to leave for the Kodak Theatre.

Nini, however, refuted this, and said the organisers had provided a tailor and hairdresser for Linda to make the necessary adjustments.

Linda’s claims that Radzuan’s dress was revealing and not suitable to her body, Nini said, were baseless.

Source: The Star

What do you all think? The mention of the alternative dress in every news report about the controversy makes me believe that she was under pressure to wear it and not the one of her choice.

As for Nini Yusof, Star TV’s associate vice-president for South East Asia, she should have dropped Linda Onn if she had doubts about her performance before Linda Onn ever arrived in Los Angeles. Now, whatever she has to say, only sounds petty and defensive.

I do not believe that Linda Onn does not have spontaneity. She is after all not a stranger before the cameras. She does host her own TV show on Astro. Had she been a novice before the cameras, I may be inclined to believe the statement that her performance and spontaneity were not satisfactory.

Just how difficult can it be to interview movie stars or anyone in the movie industry? There are usually so many interviewers representing TV and radio on the red carpet, and just how much time do you think each star can give you during the interview? You can be a non-English speaking Japanese interviewer with an interpreter, and I doubt very much if the stars care how you sound like or act like when you are interviewing them. Do you think the stars are going to ignore you especially when they are on live TV?!

It appears to me that some people with powerful connections are trying to save face after being caught up in this controversy, and are now trying to cover their asses by putting all the blame on Linda Onn. I have no proof, but that is my sense.