Different Facets of Diana

[Skippyboo]

Why is the chef bringing this up now? Diana has been dead for years. Is he in some competition between Wharfe, Jephson and Burrell about getting in the news to hawk a book.

I loved how none of the boys nannies have never talked. Imagine how much Jessie Webb could get right now.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

McGrady is donating the proceeds of his book to charity. He only seems to be disclosing a few things about Diana's eating habits after she was recovering from bulimia, rather than personal stories about Diana and the kids or Charles. Distasteful, but not in the same league as Burrell, et. al.
.

 

[MARG]

Oprah got her weight by her own eating. Being served one meal would never make a difference. If a guest requests not to be served certain things than you abide. If not you serve what you think is wonderful. You, yourself may not eat some of these things. Those who want Diana to seem heartless try their best to take some nonsense and then build it into something big. The guests problem was, obviously, not put forth, as to please do not serve me.....And, Oprah is a very smart woman, she was not "tricked" into eating anything. Come on this is BS. or PR at its worst.

I agree that some people may be a little hard on Diana here but this is not the POW's PR at work. This story appeared because her chef published a book and is doing a round of interviews. He's talking about his most famous patron--and Prince Charles had nothing to do with it and probably doesn't like it.

Well put. It sure didn't take long for the usual diversionary tactics to appear. But this time they are out of luck. It is just a chef relating a "trick" he and Diana perpetuated on a luckless victim.

I can only reiterate that this thread is about the Different Facets of Diana. This particular facet was cruel. It wouldn't have mattered who she did it to whatever their weight, the point is she did it and it was deliberate.

Rushing off at a tangent blaming the victim and even taking a swipe at PR and Prince Charles is unbelieveable and merely obfuscates the situation by trying to make this all about the choices overweight people make and a nefarious PR plot. It's not. It is about the choices Diana made.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Marg - I agree 100% with you but of course the Diana fans can't accept that their hero could ever be anything less than perfect and everytime one of her faults is pointed out we get the usual - 'she wasn't a saint but...' and 'this is Charles' PR at work' etc etc.

Sad but predictable.

 

[Dman]

The Prince of Wales nor his PR team had anything to do with the story at all.

Darren like to tell humorous stories about his time working for the late Princess. His story wasn't meant to put Diana in a bad light at all. He looks back on his time working for Diana and the royal family with a great deal of fondness and happiness.

I'm sure Oprah wasn't offended in the least over being served a nice meal, all while Diana was served a low fat version of the meal. The ladies most likely had a great time talking and laughing.

I find it so sad that a silly story like this has been turned into an attack on Diana as a person. Diana wasn't being mean to Oprah in anyway.

 

[Ish]

I think people need to take some of the specifics of who said what and look at what was actually said.

Two people got together for a meal. One complimented the other on the meal and asked how she was able to eat such rich food - not known for its slimming effect - and stay so slim - which in itself is another compliment to the host.

The host then responded by saying that she just ate small portions and worked out. If this were a genuine response, then she couldn't be faulted for it. If it were genuine then she could be seen as simply saying "I'm lucky, I have a high metabolism and am able to get away with eating this kind of food regularly so long as I work out."

If it were true. This isn't true, though. The host presented herself as something that wasn't true - she chose to lie. She was able to keep her figure - without getting into the eating disorder aspect of it all - because she wasn't eating the rich food. This becomes worse if you consider the fact that the guest was eating the rich food and had her own issues with weight that the host was very likely well aware of - the guests issues are her own, of course, and the host isn't under any obligation to provide a low fat option for the guest. But, the comment goes from being one of "well, I'm lucky..." to one of "I have more self control than you do," all while hiding the fact that she doesn't.

This makes Diana come across as a catty person. Regardless of what Diana's motivation was behind her words, she comes off as catty. Furthermore, given Oprah's well publicized weight problems, she also comes off as someone who isn't, in this moment at least, compassionate of other peoples' struggles - kind of ironically, given as this is an issue that Diana herself struggled with. If Diana was being compassionate in this moment, she wouldn't have lied. If Diana was being compassionate, she would have considered the fact that she was inviting someone who has publicly acknowledged her struggles with weight loss to lunch and served a low fat desert to her guest. But she wasn't being compassionate, she wasn't even being a good hostess. She was being catty, and this is being presented as a funny joke that she played. It's not, it's cruel and even kind of juvenile.

 

[Dman]

I think people are taking the comments and doing what they want with it. I'm pretty sure Oprah knew the truth and, if she didn't, she probably know now and probably wasn't offended at all.

I think people are focusing on the comments a little too much. I'm sure if Darren knew what people were saying about the little story, he would make sure to let people know Diana wasn't trying to trick Oprah into eating anything that wouldn't be good for her. Oprah is a lady that loves good food and she works out as well.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Well said Ish - it does show Diana in a bad light - as someone who lied to her guest and showed no understanding or empathy with her guest.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

...She was being catty, and this is being presented as a funny joke that she played. It's not, it's cruel and even kind of juvenile.

Exactly - agree 100%. It was a nasty thing to do, but then again Diana was often a nasty piece of work.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

I understand what the critics are saying: it certainly would have been better if Diana had asked the chef to prepare a delicious healthy meal--they do exist and then fruit for dessert. The reason she didn't is probably because she wanted to feel superior to Oprah. One of Diana's problems is that although she was extremely compassionate (in short spurts) to people she felt were inferior to her, she was less generous with people who she felt were superior to her. She had a hard time coping with people who weren't necessarily dazzled by her presence, such as the royal family. She probably saw Oprah, who is successful, intelligent, and popular, in the superior category. Her low self-esteem was also a symptom of her illness.

I part ways though when people fault Diana for lying to Oprah. Bulimia is a serious mental illness and recovery takes years. Diana may have stopped binging and purging by the time (although I doubt it) but she still suffered from the disease. One of the symptoms is denial. People who suffer from eating disorders are almost desperate to be seen as perfect.

For me to consider something nasty, it would have to hurt another person in some way. Yes, Oprah would have felt better if Diana had confessed she was eating a low fat version, but I think it would have been Oprah's problem if she felt worse about herself because another celebrity could eat high fat food without gaining weight. Life is unfair and Oprah has to face it like everyone else.

Of course, a person's metabolism is not a measure of perfection in anyway, shape or form. You can be a great person even if everything you eat goes right to your hips (or so I tell myself), but Diana never really understood that. She actually thought being slender made her a better person. It is truly a horrible disease.

 

[roseroyal]

If I had been Diana, I would probably have had The chef prepare two servings of the low-fat version, and one serving of the high-fat version, and let Oprah choose.
But it's not the end of the world that didn't happen.
And by the way, Olga Powell diid talk before she died.
She just didn't say anything too negative, and kept what needs to be private, private.

 

[Mermaid1962]

Pulling a fast one on a guest is extremely inhospitable. An implied falsehood is still a lie. I don't even like Oprah, but this story made me feel a little bit sorry for her.

"Oprah didn't know she was being misled, said McGrady, because "Diana never did tell her the truth."

Diana was no saint, but all this fuss over tomato salad?

 

[Dman]

It was a funny story and wasn't meant to sound like Diana did something bad at all, in which she didn't and Oprah wasn't offended at all. I think people has gotten too carried away with the story.

 

[Roslyn]

It was a funny story and wasn't meant to sound like Diana did something bad at all, in which she didn't and Oprah wasn't offended at all. I think people has gotten too carried away with the story.

Well we know different people have different senses of humour. Some people enjoy seeing other people making fools of themselves or being made a fool of.

Dman, how on earth do you know that Oprah wasn't offended at all, or wouldn't have been had she known? You've said this before on this thread, and I'm intrigued by your apparent knowledge of the workings of Oprah's mind. Are you acquainted with her?

 

[Dman]

Oprah Winfrey is an extended member of my grandmothers side of the family from the south. Oprah is a fun person and she know how to take jokes and stuff like that. I've heard Darren McGrady tell this story on talk shows. It's not a new story at all. Darren tells it with such great humor because he reflect on the good days he had when working for Diana and William & Harry. I also bought the book 'Eating Royally' and I really do enjoy his memorable stories of the royal family and recipes.

The story wasn't about Diana being mean and insensitive to Oprah Winfrey's weight or anything like that. Diana liked good food and so does Oprah. Diana just had a different version of the dish, while Oprah and even other guest would have the other version. I'm sure if any of Diana's guest had a specific problem with food, that was taken into account by her and her chef. Oprah asked Diana about her secret to looking good while eating such nice food and Diana (humorously) kept her secret. The whole story wasn't about Diana being a liar and trying to hurt Oprah's feelings on purpose.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

It is interesting that you are related to Oprah, but that is different than being able to state as a fact that she wasn't offended--people can be very sensitive about weight issues even if they have a good sense of humor.

It really doesn't matter how Darren McGrady intended the story, people are entitled to have an opinion different from his. I understand why some posters feel this demonstrates less attractive side, even if I think it is fairly minor in the scheme of things.

I think Diana was at her worst when she was publicly trying to destroy the father of her children even though it was very hurtful to them--especially since some of her allegations were untrue.

 

[Roslyn]

It really doesn't matter how Darren McGrady intended the story, people are entitled to have an opinion different from his. I understand why some posters feel this demonstrates less attractive side, even if I think it is fairly minor in the scheme of things.

I must take issue with the highlighted comment to the extent that you say it is fairly minor in the scheme of things.

I think what this incident demonstrated is that Diana was first and foremost intent on making sure she got what she wanted, and was prepared to deceive others in order to protect her interests and make herself look good. This is a facet of her personality that we saw in other contexts, for example when she attacked Charles about having affairs when at the same time she was herself doing the very same thing. And when she denied involvement in the Morton book when she was in it up to her neck.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Marg - I agree 100% with you but of course the Diana fans can't accept that their hero could ever be anything less than perfect and everytime one of her faults is pointed out we get the usual - 'she wasn't a saint but...' and 'this is Charles' PR at work' etc etc.

Sad but predictable.

I'm sorry, but I have gone back through about four threads. I saw no Diana fans protesting that their "hero" was even close to perfection. Quite the opposite... several including myself who in general liked and admired the late princess have conceded that her behavior here was unkind, even quite nasty.

I am not quite sure what else would have satisfied you?

And yes, the idea that Clarence House is behind this article is absurd.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

I must take issue with the highlighted comment to the extent that you say it is fairly minor in the scheme of things.

I'm sorry, Roslyn, it was a sloppy sentence. I meant to say that I think this specific incident was fairly minor. Oprah wasn't hurt and Diana never thought Oprah would even find out.

In contrast, when she wrote the Morton book publicly attacking Charles, she deeply hurt Charles, Camilla, their children, and the royal family. Some people may think that Charles and Camilla deserved it (the same people who ignore Diana's affairs and her role in the breakdown of the marriage), but even they have to acknowledge that the children didn't deserve to be hurt.

 

[US Royal Watcher]

I believe that Diana herself is responsible for the controversy of her private life. She is the one who choose to reveal so much about not just her private life, but the private lives of her ex-husband, his family and his friends.

 

[cinrit]

I've forgotten, so I'm not sure, but doesn't the article say that Diana gave Oprah the rich version because she knew Oprah likes rich food? If so, that's fine, and if Diana did it with a generous heart, that's fine, too. What isn't fine is that Diana lied to Oprah. She could have told her that they were eating different versions of the same thing and let Oprah make her own choice. Oprah might have found it okay and maybe even funny, but what Oprah probably wouldn't have found okay was the lie. She has made it clear more than once on her show that she doesn't like being lied to.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

One of the things I was taught growing up is that if one is a guest, one never asks for something different than what is being served, or what is already on the table. To me, the same would ipso facto apply to the hostess; you don't serve two different meals unless there is a full understanding that this is what is going on.

 

[COUNTESS]

She didn't lie to Oprah, unless Oprah, specifically asked for certain things to be omitted. And, has anyone heard from Oprah on the "horrible" incident" or is this just a bunch of BS to sell a book, by someone who cannot be refuted, because the party attacked is dead? Diana had many faults. But she cannot defend herself. The attacks on here are senseless and without real evidence.

 

[Dman]

Darren McGrady, who was Diana's chef back in the day, told this little story but he wasn't attacking Diana at all. The story was a humorous memory that Darren have of Diana inviting Oprah Winfrey to Kensington Palace. Some people have tried to turn the story around to make it seem like Diana did something terrible and insensitive to Oprah and that wasn't the case at all.

 

[Roslyn]

Darren McGrady, who was Diana's chef back in the day, told this little story but he wasn't attacking Diana at all. The story was a humorous memory that Darren have of Diana inviting Oprah Winfrey to Kensington Palace. Some people have tried to turn the story around to make it seem like Diana did something terrible and insensitive to Oprah and that wasn't the case at all.

If this is so, think Darren McGrady has a strange sense of humour and is naive. No-one's trying to turn the story around. The facts, if we are to accept that McGrady has correctly stated them, speak for themselves.

 

[Zonk]

Please note that all off topic posts related to the Charles/Diana/Camilla triangle (i.e. whose to blame, who cheated first, the War of the Waleses, the Shand family, etc.) have been deleted as off topic.

 

[MARG]

She didn't lie to Oprah, unless Oprah, specifically asked for certain things to be omitted. And, has anyone heard from Oprah on the "horrible" incident" or is this just a bunch of BS to sell a book, by someone who cannot be refuted, because the party attacked is dead? Diana had many faults. But she cannot defend herself. The attacks on here are senseless and without real evidence.

I was taught that the sins of omission are just that, sins. I was also taught that half a truth can be more of a lie than an outright lie.

Darren McGrady, who was Diana's chef back in the day, told this little story but he wasn't attacking Diana at all. The story was a humorous memory that Darren have of Diana inviting Oprah Winfrey to Kensington Palace. Some people have tried to turn the story around to make it seem like Diana did something terrible and insensitive to Oprah and that wasn't the case at all.

Actually I believe that she did and it was.

If this is so, think Darren McGrady has a strange sense of humour and is naive. No-one's trying to turn the story around. The facts, if we are to accept that McGrady has correctly stated them, speak for themselves.

Exactly. It seems that some people really enjoy the type of humour that has someone slipping on a banana skin, falling, breaking an arm and being badly concussed. Anything less than that seems to be considered no harm, no foul. There's comedy that is!

 

[lucymae88]

I don't think Diana was trying to me mean to Oprah, that happen a long time ago. Memories and facts change, Diana isn't here to defend herself and I haven't heard Oprah saying Yes Diana lied or was horrible to me.

 

[Lee-Z]

imo regarding the Oprah-Diana story:
if i assume the story is correct (because this is told by a person who isn't out to 'get back' at Diana), i don't consider the food-swap-without-telling-Oprah lying out of evilness but a result of the eating-issues (and mental issues that go with that) of Diana...
She didn't do it to harm or hurt Oprah, but couldn't see the complete picture of what she was doing because if her own food-fixation.

And if that is the case, Oprah will never consider it lying because she has met many people over the years with various disorders and what that can do to the person themselves and to others around them.
I'm pretty sure that Oprah would mainly feel sorry for Diana...

just my 2 cts...

 

[Queen Camilla]

If the tables were turned and Oprah served Diana the high fat, high calorie dessert while Oprah ate the entire low fat, low calorie version, how would have Diana reacted under the exact same circumstance?

Would Diana have remained 'friends' with Oprah? Or would she have cut Oprah out of her life?

How Diana would have treated Oprah, would tell you if it was 'intentional and mean spirited' or just a 'trick'?