Diana Ross Causes Scene At Beverly Hills Restaurant

The diva strikes back. Never one to shy away from dramatics, former Supremes headliner Diana Ross caused a scene in a Beverly Hills restaurant last Thursday after she was told she would have to wait to be seated. Ross arrived at upscale Italian eatery La Scala to have lunch with her daughter when she was told the restaurant does not seat anyone without a reservation until the entire party has arrived. Because Ross showed up ahead of her daughter, she was asked to wait. She declined and marched on to a corner booth anyway, according to the New York Post. The Post reports that management walked over to discuss the restaurant's seating policies with the singer, telling Ross that she would not be served if she didn't wait for her daughter to arrive. Naturally, Ross refused to move and a scene ensued once her daughter did show up, with both women eventually storming out of the restaurant. “I’m sorry that Ms. Ross had a problem with that and she feels that the rules didn’t apply to her," La Scala owner Gigi Leon told the Post. "Our policy is that we don’t sit incomplete parties. If people jump the line, our policy is we don’t serve them, and she was told that. We treat everyone the same, whether you’re famous or not. We love having her as a customer. We’d be happy to have her back.”

http%3A//www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/07/diana-ross-restaurant-scene_n_2424572.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dcelebrity


Mia
• Now that's a STAR, baby!

• This was really ugly of La Scala. It smacks of the treatment Josephine Baker received when she returned to New York after becoming a sensation in Europe. She was still just a nigger to the fancy restaurant she went to and was refused service.

• Oh come off it, R2. Rules are rules, and there's no evidence that they treat any other person differently. Frankly, it's refreshing to see a restaurant do this with celebrities, who think they're entitled.

• I told you people about Diane.

  Mary Wilson

• Did you even READ the article before you whipped out the race card, r2?

• Good for La Scala. Glad to see they won't put up with that shit.

• No one followed them to see where they ended up? Boston Market. Hamburger Hamlet. In and Out. Popeye's Chicken.

• As if anyone even recognized the old hussy!

  MISS%20Mutherfucking%20Dionne%21

• r2, you're a fucking asshole. This isn't 1953. There was NOTHING racially motivated about this. Are you that narrow??? Reaching to find racism when there is none only makes it worse for people who DO experience real racism. Having said that, it doesn't sound like La Scala tried to handle the situtation very well though.

• I thought the customer is always right?

• Considering the rich Persians who are showing off their gorgeous call girls, Miss Ross really ain't all that interesting. Or, the media bigwigs and their beautiful boyfriends. Diana Ross just doesn't inspire any favorite treatment anymore.

• My first thought was "I think they could have made an exception for Diana Fucking Ross!" But then I realized that the waitstaff at La Scala are all probably under 25 years old and may well barely even know who Diana Ross is.

• Has anyone ever encountered that situation? Where they have to wait until the other party shows up before being seated?

• Amateurs!

  Brandi Glanville

• Why r12? Why should they make exception for her just because she's Diana Ross?

• I have, R13, at various upscale restaurants. I have no fucking idea why they insist on it - although I've always just gone along with it. I don't see what the big deal is about allowing one or two people to wait at the table for the other guests to show up. But as one is usually 'invited' to wait at the bar for the rest of one's party, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that making people wait there is a way to get them to buy drinks while they wait.

• What happens if the person is an alcoholic and management insists that the person wait at the bar? If the person says "I'm an alcoholic, and I'd rather not sit at the bar". What does the hostess do with this person. Make them stand in the lobby?

• No it's because the server has to greet the stragglers and serve them as they arrive turning one table into a much bigger ordeal.

• Just DIE.

  P.%20Stone

• Crazy, drunken, demanding, ashy and fright-wig wearing Diana Ross cannot and should not try to pull off any obscene diva demands or she will go STRAIGHT to the Lynwood Women's Detention Center!

• Years ago I worked at 11 Madison which had its fair share of celebrity clients. While generally ok, I HATED how we were supposed to fall over for their every stupid whim. "Mr. Hanks would like the surrounding tables to be especially quiet, but not listening in." We would have gotten fired immediately for telling Diana she would have to wait for her party to be complete.

• [quote]Has anyone ever encountered that situation? Where they have to wait until the other party shows up before being seated? Happens all the time. They even did a show about it on 'Will and Grace'. You really need to get out more R13.

• They want to use that table for paying customers who are ready to order, instead of someone who is "waiting" for someone who might be standing them up. That table might be tied up for hours without producing any revenue.

• It's not racism, but I don't buy for a minute that they would have done the same thing if it had been Katy Perry or Rhianna. Gigi can blow it out her ass all she wants to, but if it was the current flavor of the month, she would have thrown someone immediately out to make room for them. She ain't fooling no one.

• [quote]I thought the customer is always right? All of the customers ahead of her waiting for the members of their parties who arrived were right.

• Yell at me all you want but they would have bent the rule for most white celebrities.

  A%20poor%20white%20man%20would%20not%20change%20place%20with%20me.%20Chris%20Roc

• What if it was Michelle Obama R24 ?

• [quote]No it's because the server has to greet the stragglers and serve them as they arrive turning one table into a much bigger ordeal. Then they should go work at Chipotle. Such a dumb fucking rule. Another sign of the decline of customer service. Don't open a fucking restaurant if you don't want to bend over backwards for your customers.

• What's wrong with the bitch. Doesn't she know she hasn't been a hot commodity for decades. They should charge her extra just for the space her hair takes up. This reminds me of the story I read about years ago. Connie Stevens pranced her ass into a very busy L.A. restaurant (no reservation) and demanded to be seated immediately. There was already a line of people waiting to be seated. When the very gay Maitre D told her she'd have to wait for a table she became incensed and screamed "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I AM CONNIE FUCKING STEVENS"! The Maitre D responded "no I don't know who you ARE, but I know who you USED TO BE." Connie apparently turned and stormed out while those waiting to be seated applauded the Maitre D. Word to the wise. Never fuck with a mincing queen Maitre D.

• Good! it's high time this women receives the same treatment she has dished out for so many years. So what you're an entertainer, get over yourself, apparently the staff at this restaurant has.

  Mary Wilson

• [quote]But then I realized that the waitstaff at La Scala are all probably under 25 years old and may well barely even know who Diana Ross is. R12. I don't care one way or another whether or not Diana Ross was seated; however, I have to take issue about people not knowing her. Does a 25-year old live in this world? If so, then they have heard of Diana Ross. I may not have lived through every celebrity who was famous during my parents' heyday, but I surely would have known who someone as famous as Diana Ross is even if I missed Ms. Ross at the height of her fame.

• [quote]"Mr. Hanks would like the surrounding tables to be especially quiet, but not listening in." LMAO! Please tell me this is a real quote.

• R28, servers are human and their sections are pretty much the limit to what a good server can do well. You whine about wanting excellent service by putting up a giant roadblock to getting it. There are limits to how far the back can bend.

  I%27m%20spitting%20in%20your%20food

• what a has been. die already.

• R23 must have it right, what if the other person shows up very late or not at all...

• I have met Gladys Knight and she is as down-to-earth and sweet as you can get. And she has the superior voice and talent over Diana Ross. Lke I said earlier, no one in LA will accomodate a demanding Diana Ross because she's older, strange, and unattractive. Do you think for a moment that a wealthy Persian is going to condone her getting a seat when he had to wait his turn? I can only imagine the looks she got from the other patrons. The clientele of La Scala must be media big-shots, rich immigrants and their young and beautiful lovers. Again, her demanding behavoior looks wierd and mentally ill. Her fright-wigs don't help either.

• She should come to my restaurant SUR... it is the Sexy Unique Restaurant.... we would have had no problem seating Miss Ross while she waited, because the wait staff is often having sex in the bathroom.... that's right, they are all really good looking, young sexy people who have ACTUAL sex, sometimes right in the restaurant while patrons are sitting. You never know what you might see when you come to SUR.... lots of Hollywood big wigs bringing their mistresses.... women they are having actual sex with... sometimes right in the restaurant bathroom as well. That is SUR, it is sexy and unique! I invite all of you flyover folks to bring your American Express card and cameras, because there is a lot of food and even more sexual activity going on at SUR. Oh Christ.... there is that lush Kim staggering to the bar.... off rehab again... excuse me while I escort her ass out.... she gets in the bathroom and ties it up for hours and half the staff ends up frustrated.... remember the staff here is horny, gorgeous, uninhibited AND THEY ARE ALL SLEEPING WITH EACH OTHER AT S.U.R..

  Lisa Vanderpump

• [quote]Has anyone ever encountered that situation? Where they have to wait until the other party shows up before being seated? Yes. Restaurants of all kinds have this policy now, not just up-scale ones. And not just busy ones either! Some establishments have adopted it as an across-the-board policy and won't seat parties until everyone is there, regardless of how deserted the restaurant is. Not sure why this policy has become the new thing, but I think it's as stupid and outrageous as Miss Ross clearly did.

• r31 I take it that you're a gay male, as am I. Of course WE know who divas from 30 years ago are, regardless of how young we may be. It's a different story with many if not most twentysomething straight people.

• "I have met Gladys Knight and she is as down-to-earth and sweet as you can get. And she has the superior voice and talent over Diana Ross." Well, Aretha Franklin disagrees with you. And she's the Queen of Soul. Or the Empress of All Music as she has been referring to herself lately.

• This is typical of many restaurants. I've encountered the situation often. However, a table for two seems a bit odd to enforce the rule on, I mean one or two is the same table. Now when I arrive with two for a party of six, different situation.

• It's probably a little bit of racism.

• Unfortunately, young gays have become as half-witted as their straight contemporaries as far as gay culture goes. "Who's Connie Francis?" indeed.

• r2 is an obvious troll, but some of you insist, nevertheless, on falling for it. I adore this old diva; always have; aleays will. Still, that she thinks she can now, even at her age and faded stardom, command special treatment disappoints me.

  Della

• R39. I somewhat disagree with you about this being a gay issue versus straight issue and not knowing Diana Ross. You make a good point about the gay and straight public, but I still think it's an issue of many younger people (whether they are gay of straight) especially those nowadays of not reading, not being aware of the world around them, etc., unless it's specifically sent to them via a text message and happening in the here and now.

  R31, and yes, I'm a gay male of a certain age

• Diana should have played Miranda Priestly in 'Devil Wears Prada" instead of Streep.

• This is the policy at most places now. Chains, everywhere. I know there are actual table service strategies that restaurants follow to manage customers, maybe a server here can explain why they do this.

• I face this issue a lot. It's frustrating when it happens, but I understand why restaurants insist on it (people would be hogging tables while they wait for people who may show up in a few minutes, or 15 minutes or 30 or longer). It takes a grade-A asshole to just go seat yourself. I mean, I've had times when most of our party is there and they expect us to stand because we're waiting on one person. But I pressed this issue and they heard reason.

• It sounds like they were busy and didn't really have a spare table for diana to wait around for her daughter at. Why should other customers who ACTUALLY HAD RESERVATIONS have to wait while some bitch with NO RESERVATIONS takes up a table waiting for her rude, tardy daughter?

• Stupid policy. "I'll meet you at Umberto's at one," used to mean just that, not "I'll meet you at the front of the restaurant where I'll be waiting like an idiot, so we can then beg the staff to seat us." Restaurants used to be establishments that catered to the needs and desires of customers, not the other way around.

• I don't like bossy restaurants

• Which daughter was she with?

• I agree, R50. This is part of the reason why I can no longer bear to go into a Schrafft's.

  J.%20Didion%2C%20sobbing

• r50, there is an article in this month's Vanity Fair about exactly what you're posting about. It focuses on how chefs at the most expensive restaurants in the world tell you what you're going to eat and how long you'll be there. They give the orders, you don't.

  Della

• R50 wins.

• I can understand the policy under most circumstances when the restaurant is busy and depending on the party size. Sometimes I think it's just practiced stupidly. Some years ago, we had a party of about 10 waiting for a table and one person, just one, didn't show up until ~ 45 min. to an hour later. We all waited while the empty, set table was there in the middle of the dining room. The dinner was for someone's birthday, so we really were stuck. Good luck getting a party that size seated elsewhere at the spur of the moment. If it had just been a get together, we would have walked out, gone to a diner, and left a note for the straggler to go eat by himself.

• always a cunt, fuck her.

• [quote]They want to use that table for paying customers who are ready to order, instead of someone who is "waiting" for someone who might be standing them up. That table might be tied up for hours without producing any revenue. R23 is right.

• This was her CRASH moment!

  Oprah%20W.

• Tread carefully. I can make all of you bitches disappear.

  Miss%20Ross

• This was her "Crash" moment.

  O

• We eat peanuts out of Mitch McConnell's shit.

  R2/42

• Remember kids, where she spits, nothing grows, EVAH!

  Cindy%20Birdsong

• This is why I eat in.

  Grace%20Jones

• R46 Thanks for the great idea. We were going stop after our Steel Magnolias fiasco but TDWP might be worth tackling.

  Lifetime Movie Network

• [quote]They want to use that table for paying customers who are ready to order, instead of someone who is "waiting" for someone who might be standing them up. That table might be tied up for hours without producing any revenue. Restaurants might also want to serve reheated frozen dinners and those premixed cocktails that come in ziploc pouches, as that would help them run more efficiently? Perhaps I could offer to get my meal myself so the staff could remain seated? /sarcasm... Sorry, but restaurants serve customers, not the other way around. Inconveniencing all customers for the convenience of the staff is ludicrous. Sometimes shit happens like a customer being stood up, but restaurants should understand that this is simply part of the cost of running a business imho.

• They should have given the Diva a table. It would have been the lesser of two evils.

• Damn, I haven't laughed this hard since Diane pumped her pussy in the rain in Central Park.

  Miss Wilson

• I've seen Britney Spears, Joan Rivers and that chick from Gilmore Girls all seated with other guests arriving later. This is because she's black.

• The problem is, if you seat one diva, you have to seat the next diva, then the next, then the next. It's neverending because the supply of divas in Beverly Hills will never run out.

• It happens to me all the time, r69, and I'm white.

• I'm a waiter at a good restaurant, and they have a similar policy. You really wouldn't believe how often incomplete parties leave without eating or drinking anything. Often, fewer people than expected show up, or they don't show up at all. And the waiter gets stretched thin waiting on someone who is waiting for someone else. Yes, even though they're not eating or drinking, it takes time and energy to make sure that someone in your section is comfortable. If you've never waited tables, don't argue with me; it's true.

• B-but, it's Diana Ross!

• Serves the bitch right. She's the reason I'm dead!

  Ghost%20of%20Flo%20Ballard

• No, that's not good! Diana has been going to La Scalia for years, they should have been nicer to her.

• I have lunch at La Scala frequently and it is true that they will not seat me until my friend shows up. I'm a white guy so it certainly has nothing to do with race. And I've seen them do it to everyone who comes in - they are not seated until the whole party is there.

• "Diana has been going to La Scalia for years" Then they've probably endured numerous instances of her entitled attitude and were sick of having to cater to it.

• [quote]B-but, it's Diana Ross! Bitch is toxic.

• R50 Your needs and desires are to not sit around waiting for your drinks, checks and food. This is hard to accomplish when a 6 top full of people with the same needs and desires straggle in. Person 1 arrives and wants a club soda and lime and to chat about the gluten free options. Person 2 is sitting there when you deliver the drink and wants to know which year some Malbec is from and if you can just go ahead and bring some ahi tuna appetizers out. Person 1 wants to know if they're gluten free. When you come back with the wine information a new couple is sitting there who want separate checks and some martinis. They hate tuna but want to know if the salmon special can be poached and if you have a split plate fee. And where's the bread? Also, where is everyone's water? You're all waiting for couple 2 who never show up meaning these pains in the asses could've all sat at a 4 top. Can you just take this appetizer off of the bill? Meanwhile, these dickheads aren't you're only table and your station has fallen apart. Another table's soups got a skin on them dying in the window, they tipped okay, but they'll never be back. The other two top? They're blogging a bad review with your name in it right now, your crime? You left them with dirty plates on their table while you explained gluten free options to the "6 Top". See how this works?

• Don't be mad at the restaurant, be mad at your dipshit friends were being late.

• She hasn't changed. Years ago, when she had some relevance, on a flight from Australia, she insisted that they switch the movie off in the first class cabin. ( old days when they still projected onto one screen for the who,e cabin) She did not want to wear eye shades, and as was Miss Ross and the rest of the plebs in first class were only non-entities, just do it! Thankfully the Qantas Queen (politely but firmly) refused her strident demand. Self centred, selfish, not in the real world bitch.

• Diana Ross is a star, IT WAS RUDE NOT TO SIT HER WHERE SHE WANTED TO GO! What a disaster!

• With regard to R2's post about Josephine Baker, she got the last word on her "slight" at The Stork Club in 1950. Apparently, she was seated (NOT in the Cub Room) and given menus but not served her meal for an hour or more. Word was that Sherman Billingsley (owner) saw her at her table and said to a waiter "Who let HER in?" Grace Kelly was there that night, too, and at some point took Josephine by the arm and marched both parties out the door, vowing never to come back again! It made all the papers. Baker dragged Walter Winchell into it (a fixture at The Stork and friend of Billingsley who had THE radio show/column with all the celeb gossip. Winchell was a powerful man, then) and he wasn't even THERE at the time it happened. Baker screamed racism. Baker SUED (settled out of court, eventually) and it was THIS incident that is earmarked by many as the beginning of the decline of The Stork Club, which was THE club of New York cafe society for decades. A very different story than diva Ross' petulant outburst.

• I can't imagine Miss Ross thinking the rules don't apply to her.

  Tucson%20driver%20looking%20over%20my%20shoulder

• I dont think there is anything that unreasonable about a 25 year old, gay or straight, not instantly knowing who Diana Ross is. She has been off the pop radar for like 30 years or more now. She doesnt make movies, she's not on tv, she's not on the radio, and they dont play her in clubs. Where would anyone even encounter her? Vegas lounge acts are not something young people would care or know about.

• I go there all the time when someone else is paying, and I'm in town and not appearing at the Les Mongrelle Grill out in Bakersfield. And since it takes me a while to hitch, I'm never left standing there alone surrounded by the masses. The party is waiting for ME. But Diane does smell funny. Uh-huh. It's true. Bitch doesn't clean it. She sprays it. Nasty. All congealed. That's what Gladys told me. She gave Diane airwick earrings last Christmas and told her they were retro-chic. Excuse me. Retro-sheeque. And that wig of wigs needs a trip to the carwash or a vet's needle. Those baboons shouldn't have died for her. Let the scalp shine, I say. That's what friends' baseball caps are for. Keep smiling.

  Miss%20Warwick

• Agreed, R85. Diana's last major hit was, what, about 30 years ago with "Missing You"?

• I'm storming out... I want the world to know... Gotta let it show...

• Ms Ross only drinks iced water.

  %20Beverly%20Hills%20Restaurant

• R85. It's about having a world view, just being aware, knowledgeable, etc.--not just because someone isn't played in "the clubs." By the time I came of age, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Johnny Mathis, Shirley Bassey...along with a string of other stars from the '40s, '50's, '60s and '70s were off the charts. I still knew who they were--or at least I had heard of them. I'm not particularly knowlegeable about some sports figures, current or of yesteryear, but at least I've heard of certain sports figures--especially a sports figure who might have been as famous as Diana Ross was in the music industry. "Diana Ross and The Supremes" are a part of American pop culture. Even a 25-year old should have heard of them. If you don't know, it's almost like saying you don't know who The Beatles or the Roling Stones are.

• I would've told her once Florence Ballard shows up, I'll seat them.

• R85...It's one thing if a 25-year old doesn't know who Mary Wilson or Florence Ballard is. But please, a 25-year old should know who Diana Ross is--even without a hit record since the 1980s.

• Florence Ballard? From Florence and the Machine?

  Twink

• I have news for you R90, a lot of young people dont know much about the Beatles and think of the Rolling Stones as funny bunch of old men. Remember, I said "not instantly recognize" not "never heard of and doesn't have a clue". We are talking about music that was popular in their grandparents day. Ive heard of musicians that predate me by a generation or two, but I could not pick Perry Como out out of a line up, couldn't tell you the name of any hit songs The McGuire Sisters sang, and couldn't tell you anything about Fats Domino, except he was fat. I know they were once a big deal, but thats it. Why? Because when I was growing up, I had my own music to listen to, and it wasn't like I was not interested, but where would I have even heard them, much less see people like that? I knew about the music my parents listened to and who they liked, but not my grandparents.

• The young cops in small town NY who not only didn't recognize Bob Dylan, but didn't recognize his name.

• R92 I didn't say they don't know who she is, but instantly recognizing her and understanding her significance is not something I would expect.

• Her days as a star are long since past. She needs to get over herself, in a big way. Quick.

• [quote]The young cops in small town NY who not only didn't recognize Bob Dylan, but didn't recognize his name. Is there a conclusion to this sentence?

• I see your point R94, but I disagree for the following admittedly subjective reasons: - the people seating you at La Scala - or any restaurant frequented by celebrities knows, or should know most famous people, especially Diana Ross - Also, even though she is not in the Lady Gaga/ Rhiana category these days, she definitely radiates stardom, and I can assure you her walking through the restaurant turned more than a few heads, and if the staff did not notice that, they should have. How many black women walk into La Scala with her aura? - Finally, the policy of not seating someone until the entire party arrives is so fucking annoying, especially when you are waiting for JUST ONE PERSON

• R54 That's been happening for a few years now. The NY Times did an article about it a few years back. I can understand some of it. I can appreciate no substitutions/exclusions on the dishes (unless a food allergy exists). But some of the places stretch the ideas to the max. I don't need someone to tell me how to experience something or what's acceptable.

• PS, the NY Times article on the "chef's way" trend

  http%3A//www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/nyregion/05puritans.html%3F_r%3D0

• You only work in a kitchen, you know.

• R96. You don't have to instantly recognize Diana Ross' face. I realize that she's been out of the public eye for a while. But if someone says, "Oh, that's Diana Ross," yes, I would expect even a person in their 20s to know the name and have heard of "Diana Ross and The Supremes." Mary Wilson? No. Florence Ballard? No. But Diana Ross? Yes. I'm not commenting on whether or not she should have been seated at the restaurant. I don't care about that. I'm just saying that a person in his/her 20s should recognize a major name in American pop culture even one who they don't "play in the clubs" nowadays. How would you know about Diana Roass? You would just know by paying attention to the world around you, reading a bit, and knowing more than just how to text inconsequential nonsense all day long. This goes beyond Diana Ross. It has to do with being halfway intelligent and being aware.

• [quote]How would you know about Diana Roass? You would just know by paying attention to the world around you, reading a bit, and knowing more than just how to text inconsequential nonsense all day long. This goes beyond Diana Ross. It has to do with being halfway intelligent and being aware. Oh dear.

• [quote] You would just know by paying attention to the world around you, reading a bit, and knowing more than just how to text inconsequential nonsense all day long. This goes beyond Diana Ross. It has to do with being halfway intelligent and being aware. You think knowing about that mop with eyes constitutes some sort of litmus test for style, or knowledge? A straight-from-the-projects starfucker who fucked and clawed her way to the top with that thin, reedy voice of hers is supposed to signify something special? Ugh. Let people forget "Diane" and remember early Aretha, and Gladys, and Patti, and Phoebe Snow, and Minnie Riperton, and a dozen other bitches who could out-sing and out-class her.

• R99 I hear you, I guess what I dont understand is where would a young person even encounter Diana Ross today? I havent seen a current picture of her in ages and have no idea what she looks like now. If I had been there and she came marching through, in all likelihood I would not recognize her because I havent seen hide nor hair of her since I dont know when. To a 20 something, Diana Ross is like Petula Clark is to my generation. I know her name, I even know the name of one of her songs. But if she was seated next to me at a restaurant, I would not recognize her. Why? Because by the time I was born, her career had ended ten years before I was born.

• When I was 16, I worked as a galley slave in a restaurant that had a lot of music industry players as clientele. None of these people were household names or particularly glamorous, e.g., Ahmet Ertegun. Everyone in the restaurant knew who these people were. Every customer--most of whom were nondescript---was treated as if they could be a VIP.

• All you of you while folk who claim you are treated the same way Diana was are NOT famous. Unless you are Tom Cruise or someone else famous your experience there does not count.

• R105. Fine, forget about Diana Ross. Should someone in their 20s have heard of (even if they don't recognize the faces of) Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight or Patti LaBelle? I say yes, even though those women haven't had a hit in more than a generation either.

• Exactly r107.

• R109 If they hadn't been played on the radio, perhaps. But while I'd agree those women haven't had NEW hits, they are significantly played on the radio as solo artists. And they've all had some sort of public influence on newer artists, sometimes collaborating with them or appearing on the music shows, etc. Diana's last real radio hit was 1984. Gladys would be closest to her in terms of not having had a hit since then, either. But Patti and Aretha are considerably better known, a fact Diana Ross seems to have a total disconnect from....

• Diana Ross is indeed still famous, they should have seated her right away. Very rude to keep her waiting.

• "How many black women walk into La Scala with her aura?" I don't know about black women, but Voldemort came close.

• December 9, 2012. Most current picture I could find.

  http%3A//www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/performer-diana-ross-watches-as-president-barack-obama-news-photo/158040393

• R114 I never would have guessed that's Diana Ross.

• Girl is so lower middle class

  Madge's Vadge

• Diana Ross? Diana Ross? Wasn't she the wife of that record producer who produced the Pippin OBCR?

• I told her she should have been on my last duets album.

  Tony Bennett

• You would be amazed at how many celebrities who used to be major stars people in their teens or 20's would not recognize. I work with two 24 year-old straight guys and while they probably have heard the name 'Diana Ross' if they were sitting next to her in a restaurant they would have no idea who the fuck she is. Even Madonna to somebody that young is a nostalgia act from their parents' generation. Time marches on...

• Bitch needed a tape recorder.

  http%3A//www.dailymotion.com/video/x354du_whoopi-goldberg-jumpin-jack-flash_shortfilms%23.UOuOEuTAd8E

• I'm 60 and I watch very little "new" TV and haven't for years. I go to very few new movies, either. I recognize some current actors' names from reading DL, but mostly haven't a clue what they look like. If they showed up at my restaurant, I would never recognize them. I can well believe that young people equally would not have a clue what Diana Ross looks like, so would not recognize her, even if they sort of knew who she was from hearing an occasional oldie. In any event, there is no doubt in my mind that LaScala would bend its rules had the staff been confronted by a current, white, recognizable star instead of a black woman in her 60's whom they probably didn't recognize.

• [quote]Even Madonna to somebody that young is a nostalgia act from their parents' generation. Here we go! Delusional Madonna stan refutes in 5,4,3,2...

• her weave had stank

• [quote]Ugh. Let people forget "Diane" and remember early Aretha, and Gladys, and Patti, and Phoebe Snow, and Minnie Riperton, and a dozen other bitches who could out-sing and out-class her. You are right r105, all of those others could outsing her, but Diana Ross looked chic and had sex appeal. That's why they put her upfront and moved Flo Ballard (the better singer) to the back.

  Effie "No one can see her on record" White

• The girl has always been a difficult diva.

  Betty Buckley, taking notes

• Few people remember how drop-dead chic Diana Ross was in the 60s-70s. But power does corrupt. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. Diana still lives in her castle-like mansion in Old Greenwich, CT. I hear it's filled with photos of her, a la Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard. She almost lost it, but then the billionaire father of her youngest children passed away. Unfortunately, he didn't leave her enough money to travel by private plane. It would save a lot of airport personel from having to deal with her.

• I've told this story on here before. I was at a Diana Ross concert at the Forum in the 70s, a huge place, which was packed. She did "Reach Out and Touch" and asked us all to hold hands (hate it!), but she said, "Please don't try to touch me, my security guards get nervous." She had almost made it to the stage when someone on the aisle reached out and grabbed her left butt cheek. Since she had just made the no touching announcement, she whipped around and stared into the face of . . . Don Johnson! You never saw a look of anger melt into a smile so fast in your life. And then she introduced him, like he was going to sing or something . . . "Ladie's and Gentlemen, Mr. Don Johnson. Don Johnson Everybody!" She wouldn't be where she was if she didn't want more than anything to get there. Once you get there, you think you're a legend. Even if other's don't.

• Nope. She's Diana Ross. You best recognize. If you don't think this is racial, you are blinded by your bubble of white privilege and completely ignorant of how the world works. Period.

• LOL at Old Lady Ross still pretending it's still 1980 and thinking she can still get away with this shit. This diva shit is exactly what became the downfall of her career. By the mid-80's, people were tired of it. This is also why she hasn't had a man since her last husband - nobody wants to put up with that shitty attitude of hers.

• Every hot restaurant, first class lounge, trendy club, etc. has a list of celebrities who are demanding and difficult. There's no color line. There's only one qualification. They have to be a nickel-plated bitch on wheels who absolutely nobody should have to lower themselves to deal with.

• Her daughter can't be bothered to show up on time and she gets pissed off at the restaurant? Sounds like some displaced anger at her disrespectful daughter. And I can guarantee you that at the height of her fame she would be the one making everyone wait in the bar until she deigned to show up.

• r127, after the enthusiastic intro, it would've been hilarious if it turned out the the man was just a lookalike, hehe... ok, that went funnier in my head... lol

• [quote]Has anyone ever encountered that situation? Where they have to wait until the other party shows up before being seated? A lot of restaurants do this because there is no reason for them to seat part of the party at a table when all they will do is just drink water or maybe order an appetizer when they could seat a whole party that is already there and ready to order right away. From a business standpoint, it makes sense because they're going to make more money from people ready to order than they are with someone sipping water for who knows how long.

• [quote]Diana's last real radio hit was 1984. Gladys would be closest to her in terms of not having had a hit since then, either. Wrong. Gladys had a Top 20 hit in 1987 with "Love Overboard", which went to #13.

• I've seen her at Ralph's supermarket many times, which is right across the street from the upscale Bristol Farms. Suprised she would be seen in the common people supermarket Ralph's.

• Read the got damn posts r133. You're like the 13th person who've stated that reason.

• that nappy headed cunt likes her some white cock

  Ms.%20Warwick

• Why do these old broads never go down with grace or dignity anymore? I mean she is no longer famous to the 18-35 age set. No one knows/admires her but elder gays, in large part. She should have been gracious. Dumb bitch. Probably hangs with Streisand and compares cunt odors.

• For those of you surprised to learn that twentysomethings don't recognize this bitch's name, you'll probably spontaneously combust when I tell you that my twentysomething cousin had no clue who Barbra Streisand is. True story.

• Y'all can sit wherever.

  Velma%2C%20Waffle%20House%20Waitress

• [quote]Yell at me all you want but they would have bent the rule for most white celebrities. You don't know anything at all about restaurants that routinely cater to celebrities if you think they practice institutionalized racism. Celebs are neither black nor white. They are golden. Everyone in LA knows this. [quote]Restaurants used to be establishments that catered to the needs and desires of customers, not the other way around. There are too many entitled twats with more credit cards than class for things to be run like that any more. Miss Ross was treated like a walk-in guest because that is what she was. She showed up without anyone calling ahead to let the place know to expect her. If she had done that, she would have been whisked to a table that would have been saved for her.

• Miss Ross thinks its 1978. Its over, honey! Your just one of us now. That's right sweetums, you have to wait to be seated. *gasp*

• Perhaps someone told her that the time machine she bought last week works.

• I think it was rude of the restaurant to treat any female in this manner. What if a female were by herself? That is how they should have treated Ms Ross. Their "rules" are not more important than the contentment and satisfaction of their customers. The fact that it was Diana Ross is not a factor, but enforcing a bad "rule" is reprehensible. Any establishment that argues with a customer is poorly run. There were no winners in this scenario, just losers all round.

• Diana Ross is an American divaesque Zsa Zsa but with talent. You think Diana Ross and the following thought is always glamor. MJ dedicated his first transformation to her honor before he switched off to Liz Taylor's features. Reminds me of Madonna's melding into Ms. Harry. Diana the Impervious. Gender, race and age play no part in the essence of her soul. She just is.

• Diana Ross = Has-been slob. She just is.

• Why has Diana had the same rats nest hairstyle for the last 30 years? If she's not going to take the time to comb it, why doesn't she just get a shoulder length style and put a relaxer in it to straighten it so that she it will not only be more simple, but look nicer?

  http://www.radaronline.com/sites/radaronline.com/files/photos/image_20120321/diana-ross-no-makeup.jpg

  Mess

• [quote]Why has Diana had the same rats nest hairstyle for the last 30 years? Why mess with perfection?

  Whoopi

• You know dears, she does live in the flats. Lower Roxbury I believe. That does explain a lot.

  North%20of%20Sunset%2C%20Beverly%20Hills%2C%20Centre%20of%20the%20Universe

• R149 I don't think she lives in the flats anymore. When she was on Oprah a few years ago, they showed a clip of her at home in Malibu.

• I don't think she lives in Malibu as I see her regularly in Ralph's on Beverly Drive. That would imply she lives in Beverly Hills as Malibu would be too far for regular shopping.

• Make that Beverly Blvd not Beverly Dr.

• Wow, what a bunch of jealous bitches.

• no blacks allowed in Malibu

• LaScala, I'm not mad at YOU, I'm mad at the POLICY.

  Mahogany Dearest

• [quote]you'll probably spontaneously combust when I tell you that my twentysomething cousin had no clue who Barbra Streisand is. True story. R139. Your twentysomething cousin is an idiot.

• r156, not really surprising, with so much of present pop culture fighting for their attention. My 11yo nephew, who loves a ton of MJackson's songs, thought he was Caucasian.

• She is a piece of work, that one.

  Berry%20Gordy

• When one becomes a STAR, one is always A STAR! why don't these little people know WHO I AM?!!

  Miss%20Ross

• Is she poor now? What is her income level? I know she was once married to a Swedish shipping magnate, but they got divorced. Did she make out in the divorce or not?

• They said "we would be happy to have her come back." What a bunch of assholes at that restaurant and their stupid seating policies. How dare they treat a great singer who has given us gays hours and hours of classic Motown songs to shake our butts to. I had all the Supremes records and Diana Ross' albums in the 70's and 80's. She was and still is MY diva! How dare they do this to her. She was right to act pissy. I would have done the same thing. Screw them!

• That damn restaurant. Why didn't they kill all the other guests and dump the corpses outside so there would be enough space for Diana, her ego, and her daughter? Bad bad move on the restaurant. Next time, kill the other guests to accomodate the famous one.

• I expect the bodies to be scented with essential oils and concealed with fresh lavender ... or else!

  The Boss

• Diana the bitch more or less said that she didn't believe in gay marriage when she did an interview with the Advocate back in 1999. When the interviewer kept asking her what she thought about it, she kept saying "I haven't thought about it enough" and that "two people could live together without a legal contract". You can read the article at the link. Fuck this old has-been.

  http://books.google.com/books?id=UmMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=diana ross the advocate&source=bl&ots=Lickez6k29&sig=SoiEIXaCWLjhDZz7orGZXmafg28&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Gx7sUOmDO8fKrQHa9ICwAg&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=diana ross the advocate&f=false

• r162 made me LOL

• It wouldn't be nearly as funny, R165, if it weren't true.

• [quote]She was right to act pissy. I would have done the same thing. Yes dear, we know you would have, and we are sure you do, all the time.

• Great stars have great pride.

  Patti LuPone IS Norma Desmond

• Does La Scala at least have a holding room or lounge of some sort so people can wait for the other people to arrive?

• I AM big. It's the restaurants that got small.

  D

• Throw that bitch back into the projects and see if she tries puliing that shit.

• Kudos to the restaurant. I hate when celebrities are treated differently.

• I was writing a long rant about how stupid this rule is and had to erase it as I finished I finally got it. If there are people who are ready to eat I would be pissed if someone was at a table stalling for their late friend while I we are ready and waiting to eat. But if you do have reservations...

• She said she didn't endorse gay marriage. IN 1999?!?!? Fuck, I'm a gay man, and I didn't endorse them back then, either. I'm not a fan, but cut her slack. Opinions and people evolve.

• [quote]Fuck, I'm a gay man, and I didn't endorse them back then, either. Then that's your own self-hate issues.

• That's pretty stupid. If anything, Diana Ross would have legitimized their restaurant and could have been great for publicity if they had handled it with more grace. Unfortunately, I think R12 had it right. The kids running the restaurant probably didn't know who she was or understand the customer service lesson that, where possible, exceptions can be made.

• R176, please explain how a diva like Ross would "legitimize" a very successful restaurant.

• "...legitimized their restaurant?" Isn't La Scala an established used-to-celebrity place with or without Ross's presence? Again, I adore Ross, however, she made herself look bad here.

  Della

• Good for the restaurant. I am so tired of celebs pulling the "do you know who I am?" line. Rules apply to everyone.

• I think La Scala did got great PR from this. Nobody likes to be bumped for a celebrity.

• Joey Heatherton did it better. Both Diana and Pearl Bailey get named in the testimony.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOL4wTldvN4

• standing ovation for Miss Ross

  https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DtSafKowInkc

• I hate to break this to some of you, but if you are under 30 (which I assume most of the staff there are) Diana Ross is about as relevant as Dean Martin. Someone from the past, someone their parents (actually more like grandparents) listened to. Time marches on.

• yes, r183, and sooner or later it will march right across your face.

  Truvy%27s%20House%20of%20Beauty

• R184 and your point is....?

• Even Andy Cohen dubbed the Supreme Miss Thing the "Jackhole of the Week" on last night's WWHL.

• Well if Andy Cohen said it, R186... I don't encounter divas in my line of work but shit like this cracks me up and I love hearing about it. I'd be disappointed if she didn't cause a scene.

• Diana Ross is a Supreme! Who doesn't know that already? Give me a break!!

• [quote]How dare they treat a great singer who has given us gays hours and hours of classic Motown songs to shake our butts to. I had all the Supremes records and Diana Ross' albums in the 70's and 80's. She was and still is MY diva! Absolutely agree.

• The problem is, if she has to wait, is she going to sit by herself at the bar? Stand in the lobby? It would be strange to just have Diana Ross hanging around. Her hair would make it difficult for other people to move around her. The truth is, she should have made sure her daughter got there first.

• [quote] Who doesn't know that already? People born after 1979. Apparently, there's a lot of them.

• [quote]Has anyone ever encountered that situation? Where they have to wait until the other party shows up before being seated? Not at a restaurant that has seatings. It's common at high-volume places where it's important to maximize orders.

• I don't believe that a successful restaurant in Beverley Hills doesn't make a lot of exceptions from policy for celebrities.

• I think she's right, she is a legend and they should've accommodated her. I think the idiot maitre d or owner or whoever did this to her was just shit stirring to get his restaurant some publicity, or maybe taking his anger out on Miss Ross seeing that she's not what she once was and he figured he could get away with it.

• How sad that Miss Ross is staging these little tantrums just to get noticed these days. You would think that all she needed to do was, you know, record a decent album for a change.

  Maybe she's gunning to be a judge on "America's Got Talent"?

• R194, the employee was undoubtedly a kid who didn't know who she was and thought she was a homeless person because of the fright wig.

• [quote]People born after 1979. Yeesh, I'd never try to characterize an entire generation by proclaiming that they don't know who someone is. If the name of a singer comes up, I can look it the fuck up and determine for myself whether or not it's someone i want to know more about. Pretty simple. I wasn't around for Enrico Caruso or Bessie Smith either, but by some miraculous process I know who those people are and have for a long time. The Supremes are like Elvis and Bessie Smith, part of our shared cultural heritage and just something people should know about, just as they should be able to find Oregon on a map or know what the Civil War was about and know who John Steinbeck was. It should not be a point of youthful pride to be ignorant of these things. If you don't know, it takes about 30 seconds to learn. You're welcome.

• And it's a stupid policy. Restaurants should serve their customers--black or white, celebrity or nobody--not leave them standing at the front of the house in order to accommodate the staff.

• [quote] Diana Ross is a Supreme! Who doesn't know that already? Someone who isn't a hundred and not a hissssssing eldergay.

  Hisssss%21%20

• What I find weird about the whole 'why would I know who someone is?' phenomenon is that younger people now have greater access to the performers of the past but less awareness of them. It's like what Meghan McCain said when asked about something that occurred in the 1970s. 'How would I know, that was before I was born?' Can't recall the pundit who responded but his answer was along the lines of 'I wasn't born during the Civil War, but I know about it'. There seems to be a general lack of curiosity about anything outside of their immediate lives.

• "There must not have been a gay person on staff that day...really?"

  http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DExyS6jRXUww

• Some of you are really cracking me up. She's Diana Fucking Ross. Nothing more. She's not the president. She didn't discover a cure for cancer. No one can say their life would be any different were it not for Diana Ross. She has been virtually invisible for a generation now. To expect young people, who are bombarded with pop culture like never before, to give a second thought to someone who was popular in their grandparents time is somewhat unrealistic. Honestly, you sound like what I imagine is some oldster circa 1957, griping about that rude "rock n roll" and lamenting kids today dont appreciate the styling of Benny Goodman.

• oh shut up, it's a stupid policy. They should seat whoever wants to be seated unless they are filled up.

• Has anyone served Marisa Berenson at the same restaurant in Beverly Hills?

• "There seems to be a general lack of curiosity about anything outside of their immediate lives." So agree with this! Gen X & Y are so self satisfied and lazy and entitled and all they have to do is click a fuckin' mouse and get the answer to anything that is beyond their frame of reference. I think this is the reason their art is sub-par. It's just laziness and unawareness of the much better work previous generations have done!

  so glad I'm a boomer

• lol @ Wendy

• I think it's a stupid policy, especially in a town filled with high-profile celebrities.

• r207, I guess that means that no celebrity you don't like cut in line in front of you and got seated at a table that might have been yours without the celebrity bargin in. You know what gets you out of business faster than Andy Dick frequenting the place? Being known to treat famous people preferably (apart from putting them in a VIP section).

• R128, you are so right. Don't I know it.

  Oprah, wandering around Paris in search of an open store

• The posters sayin that younger might well not recognize the face OR name of Diana Ross are unfortunately probably correct. I remember being shocked and appalled - 5? 10? years ago when I first started reading about, or encountering young people who didn't know who the Beatles were (wasn't there somethin about that; about people tweeting durin the Grammys year? when McCartney sang, or something?) I was appalled at a family gathering, that no one in my family - all better educated than I, make tons more $$, travel on business, pleasure; have encountered on their travels people like Bruce Willis and Robert DeNiro (and of course knew who they were!, didn't know who Leonard Cohen is. I realize he's not a movie star, but I've heard of him forever and thought everyone had. I was also shocked that a group of people I had lunch with - family group; aged 30-90, everyone bright, NOT senile, educated, etc.: NO ONE had heard of Viggo Mortensen! Oh, and I had a boss - 60ish at the time - 20-25 years ago, who, when Michael Landon died, had never heard of him nor watched Bonanza. On this, board everyone is tres sophisticated - I mean that sincerely! - which is why I love this board. I can see different sides of this Diana Ross story; agree with restaurants and servers' points of view, but I think ultimately the restaurant screwed up in this case. Would love to read more...

• R197. Wholeheartedly agree! I have written several responses on this thread stating that many of us weren't around for certain people, places and things that happened before we were born--and yet we still know about them. Diana Ross and The Supremes fall into that category. Diana Ross is part of a shared cultural experience and part of our history. And yet others keep posting "But I wasn't born then" or "How am I supposed to know?" Well, given the ignorance and lack of curiosity among so many people today--not just the youth (even though they have access to so much technology nowadays), I suppose this lack of knowledge shouldn't surprise us--and yet it still does, and it's rather disheartening and goes way beyond Diana Ross. It's about everything and this attitude of "How would I know?" I wasn't around for Johnny Mathis' and Judy Garland's heyday, but I was alive for the latter part of their lives when they were not in the public eye--and I was quite young at the time. However, if they walked into a restaurant--even if I didn't readily recognize them--I would know who they are (and their significance) if some one said, "That's Johnny Mathis over there." This constant criticism of "You must be an 'eldergay' to know who Diana Fucking Ross is" goes beyond any thinking person's comprehension.

• "Who is Diana Ross?"

  http%3A//soulfuldetroit.com/showthread.php%3F4908-WHO-IS-DIANA-ROSS-A-poll-of-the-next-genration

• r28, that's not true, people don't keep track of who gets seated at restaurants and who doesn't. Such a ridiculous argument.

• [quote]Restaurants should serve their customers--black or white, celebrity or nobody--not leave them standing at the front of the house in order to accommodate the staff. You don't get it. The restaurant is trying to guarantee better service to customers who are actually dining by not allowing non-dining guests to loiter at its tables while waiting for others who may or may not be joining them. If she wanted to be taken seriously, she should have reserved a table, thereby declaring her serious intent to patronize the place. For all they knew she was going to sit there sipping ice water for an hour before getting up and leaving without ordering a thing. That is why they have that policy. Besides, her disastrous Supremes "reunion" tour of 2000 should have taught Miss Ross that if she wants to be taken seriously, she needs to be seen in the company of Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. 'Cause otherwise folks ain't interested.

• The people who don't understand the policy have never waited tables before. It's been explained beautifully as to why incomplete can't be seated and they still don't get it.

• HEL-LO?? Diana Ross...The Supremes...Lady Sings The Blues.... Touch Me In The Morning. Give Miss Ross her seat, she earned it! Now, if Carrot Top demanded to be seated, that would be a very different story.

• Celebrities bring big business. La Scala was stupid not to accommodate Diana Ross to her seat right away.

• [quote]Besides, her disastrous Supremes "reunion" tour of 2000 should have taught Miss Ross that if she wants to be taken seriously, she needs to be seen in the company of Mary Wilson and Cindy Birdsong. 'Cause otherwise folks ain't interested. You fail to remember that Diana Ross was the lead singer and star of the Supremes.

• "The people who don't understand the policy have never waited tables before. It's been explained beautifully as to why incomplete can't be seated and they still don't get it." No you don't get it because you just work in a kitchen.

• Actually, R185, your point is what exactly?

• R220 I'll answer your question when you answer mine.

• Some people are just ignorant to some parts of current and past events / pop culture. I don't see the point of going in full rant mode, because one of your own icons don't get the respect or attention you think he or she deserves. You don't know Diana Ross and her solo music or the songs she did with the Supremes? well, that's your loss. Moving on.

• Ooh - equating Diana Ross to Dean Martin is a bit unfair, don't you think? How many sales records did Martin break? To what socila group did Martin represent a pivotal social change of an era; to whom did he serve as role model for an oppresed culture? (i.e. the crossover that Diane was capable of exemplifying).

  And don't even say 'Italian Americans"- they were better placed than Martin was

• If they can't recognize Diana Ross, then how are they going to treat studio heads and other key personnel in the film industry?

• [quote]The restaurant is trying to guarantee better service to customers who are actually dining by not allowing non-dining guests to loiter at its tables while waiting for others who may or may not be joining them. I'm thinking this must be a trashy American thing. Wouldn't happen at restaurants elsewhere in the world. If there's a table, you can be seated and wait for the rest of your party. There's no McDonald's 'turn-the-suckers-out-as-fast-as-you-can' or 'make-sure-you-don't-inconvenience-the-waitron' philosophy in restaurants in France, Italy, or Spain imho.

• [quote]The people who don't understand the policy have never waited tables before. It's been explained beautifully as to why incomplete can't be seated and they still don't get it. You do understand that restaurants don't ostensibly operate for the convenience and happiness of the waitstaff, correct? Well, in the end, I'm glad this policy at least makes the waiters happy. It's otherwise entirely stupid and uncivilized.

• I doubt the problem was that they did not recognize Miss Ross.

• R225, that would be fine if you sat there and expected nothing more than to sit there and stare at the door while you waited for the late arrivals but these jackasses invariably want something and they typically want it NOW b/c they are nervous about being by themselves/pissed that they are waiting. If a server has a section of 5 tables and these guys straggle in, They're running their ass off to accommodate them and it feels like they now have a 10 table section. The service suffers and people don't come back or tip. I'm not sure why the entitled among you don't understand that this rule benefits you.

• R226 This policy is not for the convenience of the wait staff. It is for the convenience of the customers who are there to and ready to eat.

• [quote]If a server has a section of 5 tables and these guys straggle in, They're running their ass off to accommodate them and it feels like they now have a 10 table section. The service suffers and people don't come back or tip. I'm not sure why the entitled among you don't understand that this rule benefits you. Oh, I see. You do have a point, sorry.

• R226, how do you think you get good service? The servers aren't "inconvenienced" with a bunch of extra bullshit that slows them down from their regular tables and are "happy" to serve you. I swear, as long as we've reached the fucking nadir of reality TV, we could have people who are dicks to waitstaff be whisked into the kitchen, given an apron and forced to wait tables for 8 hours. Because the dicks invariably have NO experience with the job. It might have a few laughs and people like to see others knocked down a peg to reach an epiphany. You listening Mark Burnet?

• R225 In Europe if there is an empty seat at your table they will seat someone there. I am sure Diana would have had NOOOOOOOOO problem with that.

• [quote] these jackasses invariably want something Yes. How dare these jackasses waltz into a restaurant and then expect to be served!!!!!

• Even though I am a HUGE Supremes fan, when I first read about the whole debacle, I understood the restaurant's business angle, thought it fair, and somewhat rejoiced a little bit on the snide readjustment of an over-the-top diva reaction. But you know what? It's Diana Ross. Not Matt Dallas, Lindsay Lohan, Macy Gray, Whoopi Goldberg, or Britney Spears -- but Diane Ernestine Earle Ross. The girl who rose from the projects to international record-breaking stardom to inspire many - from Oprah to Whoopi herself - to reach for the stars and lead millions. because they arrived first After carefull thought, even the business angle goes out the window, when you think about the fact that fetching a simple 2 or 4-top where Miss Ross can sit and wait for her daughter has to be a million times better for business than enforcing equalitarian patron rules. Hmmm - Diana Ross at a booth in your restaurant vs. making sure Lydia Hamilton and her party of three from Encino, CA get seated before because you'll be able to push the pasta primavera for all four at 12.95 a piece and make a few more bucks. I wonder wat makes more business sense. Bottom line, I'm all for equality, but I'm sure even Lydia Hamilton would have preferred sharing time and space with La Ross than watching her leave the joint pissed off.

  And Flo, she don't know...

• [quote]how do you think you get good service? You get good service from professional wait staff. They understand that not everyone arrives at a place at the exact same time, and that it's their job to accommodate and serve the customers who are there. If someone is sitting at an empty table for an hour without ordering anything (I'm so sure this happens all the time. eyeroll), well, fair enough: maybe it's time for the maitre d' to walk over and ask some questions about what's going on, but really.... The policy just seems so uncivilized.

• *snicker*

  Flo knows ...

• [quote]But you know what? It's Diana Ross. Not Matt Dallas, Lindsay Lohan, Macy Gray, Whoopi Goldberg, or Britney Spears -- but Diane Ernestine Earle Ross. Who???

  anyone%20under%20age%2035

• [quote]After carefull thought, even the business angle goes out the window, when you think about the fact that fetching a simple 2 or 4-top where Miss Ross can sit and wait for her daughter has to be a million times better for business than enforcing equalitarian patron rules. Ridiculous. No one knows who she is anymore. She hasn't had a hit in 25 years.

• Beyonce and Diana Ross walk into LaScala at the same time and there is only one table left. Who gets seated first?

• I do.

  Lady Gaga, waiting on a party of 5

• You'd be surprised how many people are willing to pay high prices for poor service. They often think a haughty, supercilious waitstaff is the hallmark of a fine restaurant. How else can you explain shitholes like Elaine's and Regine's, which couldn't even turn out decent food?

• Miss Ross was treated like the rest of us...as a mere mortal. Well, eldergays, hold onto your depends because I will be the one to tell you that is exactly what she is *gasp*. And one day, as hard as it is for you to fathom, she will pass away like every other fucking human. So get over it all you stupid starfuckers!

• If DR drops dead tomorrow, do you think the networks will do a 24-hour non-stop coverage a la MJ, WH, or even Nicole Smith?

  I%20don%27t%20either.

• [quote]You fail to remember that Diana Ross was the lead singer and star of the Supremes. And you fail to remember that when Diana "fired" Mary and Cindy from the 2000 Tour that was billed a "Supremes Reunion" ticket sales fell off so quickly and completely that the tour had to be canceled.

• [quote]Does a 25-year old live in this world? If so, then they have heard of Diana Ross. I may not have lived through every celebrity who was famous during my parents' heyday, but I surely would have known who someone as famous as Diana Ross is even if I missed Ms. Ross at the height of her fame.[/quote] I'm a 30-something, who has been around 20-somethings lately and many don't know anyone or anything beyond a 5 year time frame. I once mentioned Mary Tyler Moore and the a girl was dumb founded, another never even heard of the film Sixteen Candles. I always knew celebrities, films and tv shows of my parent's generation. The teens and 20-something's in my family seem to be hip to a lot of past things, but I guess it depends on the person.

• I saw Miss Ross perform at Caesar's Palace over 25 years ago and I must say she was fabulous. What a performer. She had the audience in the palm of her hand and the show was spectacular with beautiful costume changes and special effects. I had a friend who had Miss Ross on a flight to South America and I was waiting to hear about her diva antics. I was surprised when he told me she visited with him in the galley and was polite and charming.

  Lou%20the%20Stew

• R246 number one - we all were fabulous 25 fucking years ago. And number 2 she was probably in a good mood...25 years ago...because she was getting laid. No one is going to the land of Siberia in her granny panties now.

  stop%20with%20the%20time%20travel

• [quote]Does a 25-year old live in this world? If so, then they have heard of Diana Ross. You have to realize, I say this with the fullest respect: [bold]Mary![/bold]

  Even%20a%2025%20year-old%20Inuit%20in%20Greenland%3F

• R246 here you go

  http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DpEnKEcBvBvw

• Thanks R249. I think that was a different show than I saw. I don't remember any go-go boys dancing but that was fun anyway. She really was awesome in her day.

  Lou

• R247. No upgrade for you.....now get the fuck back to coach and stay out of the First Class lav.

  Lou

• [quote]No upgrade for you.....now get the fuck back to coach and stay out of the First Class lav. No one can get in there anyway: Diane's been in there sticking her finger down her throat to puke up her last few meals.

  Mary%20W.

• The size of a table for one is the exact same size as a table for two. After arriving, she should have said "It's just me, then." And allowed the hostess to seat her. Then when the daughter arrived, allowed them to seat the daughter at the "table for one."

• I like the Alamos malbac, a great buy at 12.00, I don't know how anyone drinks that Yellowtail swill.

• Unless it was a booth.

• R246 Nice set of safety gays (tm Stirred Straight Up).

  http%3A//stirredstraightup.blogspot.com/

• Give the lady a goddamn seat! Diana Ross - The Boss

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HnnWhANLjk

  She's something else.

• Thank you, R257.

• Elder gays are ridiculous and hilarious. They prove the saying "there's nothing sadder than an old queen" via this very thread!

  Time%20has%20MOVED%20on....its%202013%2C%20grandma

• I don't think this is about celebrity or starfucking so much as it is about how a high end restaurant could bend a stupid rule out of respect for a mega-star who's been around forever -- and is getting up in years. Really, couldn't they just let it go in her case? I hate stupid rules. Can't imagine how much more I will hate them when I am her age. (And, no, for the record, they don't apply to me).

• [quote]I don't think this is about celebrity or starfucking so much as it is about how a high end restaurant could bend a stupid rule out of respect for a mega-star who's been around forever -- and is getting up in years. Really, couldn't they just let it go in her case? The restaurant is in Beverly Hills - they see celebs all the time so they don't give a shit if someone's famous or not. I think everyone's forgetting the time Old Lady Ross got arrested at an airport because she thought she was too good to go through the security pat-down like everyone else and went off. She's a spoiled brat who thinks rules don't apply to her. Her shitty attitude is legendary, so there's really no reason to take her side. If she doesn't like the rules, the she doesn't have to eat there.

• Why would she cause a scene with Beverly Sills?

• sounds like this la scala place is a low-class shithole... bet they wouldn't pull this crap if it was current trash like beyonce, justine bieber, kim kardashian, etc... glad miss ross walked out... she shouldn't have lowered herself to go there in the first place...

• I just looked pictures of this place up on line and I don't understand what the hype is. The decor looks like an old persons dining room, the menu looked boring, and the pictures of the food didn't look like anything special IMO. Also, in a lot of the reviews, people said the food wasn't all that great. So why the hell is it so popular?

• I think they should have let her sit down because she is an older lady. Doesn't matter re fame. Stupid rule.

• I can't wait until this happens to Madonna in another 15 years

• R264 I think it's one of those places that's been around for ages and survives on the fumes of its heyday and former reputation.

• R267 are you talking about the restaurant or Ms Ross ? It's all a bit silly. I have everything Ms Ross and the fabulous Supremes ever released, and was a huge fan. Nothing can erase how much they enriched our lives back in the day. A totally different issue is how Ms Ross interacts with the modern world. Rules may be stupid (i understand all the reasons given) but you have a choice when it comes to restaurants, and diva or not, show some dignity and act in a mature manner. Walk out. Write to the newspapers. Tell your friends to boycott. Don't give the world a chance to open a thread like this which ultimately shows you to be, at best, a childish brat.

• Back in the day Miss Ross would've killed a person off that angered them. It started with Florence. That is all that I can say.

• I love the contrast of her happily being photographed pushing a cart full of Cheetos at Ralphs and her diva demands at an upscale restaurant. It's almost bipolar.

• Diana is a dear friend. Webmaster, get to that delete button, PRONTO.

  Tig Notaro, incensed,.

• Oh, I think Flo is enjoying her long and protracted revenge against Diane.

  Savor it, Flo.

• This nasty little scenario backs up everything that was written about her in Dreamgirls, Call Her Miss Ross and all of the other biogs that called her out on her rude, entitled cunt behaviour.

• Imagine having to work with this crazy bitch!

  Miss Wilson

• I know how to give you a lovely tour of the freeways in LA!

  Ms.%20Cindy%20Birdsong

• I've been to La Scala many times. The food is fine there. It does have a lengthy history. I like it because it is right on Canon Drive and so damn convenient to crash there for some shrimp and a drink.

• You can take the girl out of the projects, but you can't take the projects out of the girl.

• R4 I love that Mary Wilson always refers to La Ross as Diane in her interviews. That is some shade throwing right there.

• What do you want her to call her?---That fucking slut bitch?

• R279. Mary calls her Diane which I believe is her real name not Diana which Ms Ross prefers.

• She is a LEGEND, OLD HOLLYWOOD! They SHOULD have seated her. Final word...

• 1972 is not "Old Hollywood."

• Ok R282, She is a LEGEND, MIDDLE AGE HOLLYWOOD! They SHOULD have seated her. Final word...

• Was it Chudney?

• They should have seated her. Think of all the fun the waiters would have had, gathered around her shrimp salad and spitting all over it before it was served to her. Or rubbing the pork chop up and down the cracks of their asses.

• Old people lose impulse control and Miss Ross seems to never had much. A truly gracious person who have not asked for special treatment. That says it all.

• Would have not asked... typo

• Her friends and family always call her Diane because that's her real name. Diana was a typo on her birth certificate and she decided to start using it. Everyone else has to call her Miss Ross or else!

• R2 is a hateful pot stirrer. sad.

  anonymous

• Post 50: You mean to tell me that she should be treated better than anyone else because she is famous? Now that is Plantation mentality in reverse. I doubt MLK would have agreed with this

• Yeah, P281.....We should be automatically seat OJ

• Diana Ross is a bigger star than Madonna. La Scalia should have had accommodated her immediately.

• What is often overlooked is the fact Miss Ross has 18 #1 hits including 12 as the lead singer of the Supremes...

• [quote]What is often overlooked is the fact Miss Ross has 18 #1 hits including 12 as the lead singer of the Supremes... So what? Her last #1 song was 32 years ago and her last Top 20 hit was almost 30 years ago. You can only rest on your laurels for so long before people stop caring and before other people surpass you.

• R294. There aren't many who have surpassed Diana Ross. She was a goodamn megastar who's star has faded a bit. Big fucking deal. So what, Diana Ross would have gotten some preferential treatment because of who she is. Would it have hurt anyone? And what's wrong with being a little star struck over someone like Diana Ross? Besides, don't you think she knows her star has faded? Give her a fucking seat. Break the rules a little. What's the harm? Besides, she's an older woman now. Have a little respect even if the rumors of her past misbehavior are true. It's Diana fucking Ross. We've all received preferential treatment at one time or another for something. Anyone who has provided as much entertainment and joy to millions of people for more than a generation deserves to have a goddamn seat for lunch even if you have to wait a few extra minutes.

• We seat incomplete parties all the time where I work.

  Joyce "Refills Always Free!" DeWitt

• You elder gays sure do like to travel in your imaginary time machines to your "glory days". In this case when Diana Ross was famous. Sad.

• A golden opportunity to cunt was missed. A truly cunty maitre d' would have allowed Diana Ross to take the seat and then announced in a loud voice that while it was against policy, he had a grandmother Miss Ross' age and she couldn't stand for too long either. Then she would have had the choice to flounce out, or sit there and seethe for the entire meal.

• Damn it, La Scala is MY place!!

  Mahogany%20Dearest

• What R298 said.

• r295 writes, "Besides, don't you think she knows her star has faded?" Which is all the more reason she should avoid the type of behavior she engaged in here and I write this as someone who wholeheartedly shares your reaction to Diana's career and stardom. It's a mean, cruel world and I've come to realize that among the "isms" and phobias we engage in against each other, ageism almost is the most virulent. She risked it,threw the dice, hit the spin button that, even despite her faded stardom and age, that if she played the diva she'd be accommodated. She lost that bet when, otoh, if she would have quietly waited, at least she'd have her dignity. Again,it's mean and cruel lesson, but it's reality. She has herself to blame for this.

  Della

• I agree Della

  Anonymous%20

• "Mirror Mirror" on the wall - who's the biggest bitch of all?

• Andy Cohen was on the other night talking about this and saying that Diana Ross is a star and should not have to follow rules like other people. I wanted to jump through the screen and punch his 12-year old girl-talking face.

• I agree with Andy Cohen! Stupid rules like this don't apply to legends. Laws do, however.

• So Mrs. and Mrs. Jayden Smith and their daughter Maydesyn will be promptly seated because their party is complete, but not Diana Ross. What's wrong with this business model?

• [quote]hen was on the other night talking about this and saying that Diana Ross is a star and should not have to follow rules like other people. I wanted to jump through the screen and punch his 12-year old girl-talking face. I'm not surprised. Remember, this old queen thinks he's some sort of star, so he thinks that celebs shouldn't have to follow rules. He's such an ass kisser it's pathetic.

• So all of you who don't have a problem with this, if you were waiting for one person in your party and they told you you couldn't be sat until they got there, but Miss Ross comes in and is promptly seated, that wouldn't bother you??? Those that answer yes are deluding themselves.

• The woman was born to be on stage, she has entertained millions of people on stage and on the screen. She gives her talent generously to her audience. She is one of the last true superstars never to be seen again. The idiots at that restaurant treated her shabbily and they need to pay. Would Judy Garland be treated this way if she were still alive? You white ass napkins would be picketing this place if that was the case.

• I saw Diana in concert back in 2010 and she was so boring. All she did was walk back and forth across the stage and had no excitement in her whatsoever. In contrast, I saw Tina Turner (who is older than Diana) in 2008 and she danced her ass off for the full 2 hours, running all around the stage. Diana may have made some good songs, but a perfomer she is not.

• r.310, I saw Diana in concert in the early 80's and she did the same thing. She also lip-synched to all of her numbers and had about 10 costume changes through the whole thing. One of the most boring concerts I've ever been to.

• R311 Glad it's not just me that thought she's boring. Like you, it was one of the most boring concerts I've been to as well; and I've seen a lot of concerts. Instead of thinking the audience is supposed to be entertained by her numerous stupid gowns, she should have learned how to dance instead of just walking back and forth across the stage.

  R310

• Agree with R301 as as you all become elder gays you too will realize this to some extent.

• Really R306! Oh my another elder gay boards the time travel machine. It must be crowded in this delusion. You really don't see the difference. First there is a 40 year difference. Then there is a level of fame difference. And relevancy. NOT historical relevancy but present day relevancy. Its like comparing a 60 year old gay man to a 20 year old gay man AND then whining that the 20 year old got more attention. Doesn't matter how hot he used to be the world is saying "next"!

  Cold%20truth%2C%20hunty%21

• Not for nothin', but how upscale could be the place be if you can walk in without a reservation?

• Amen!

• Diana has been a loyal patron of La Scala for decades. She may not be the star she once was, but she is still a legend. Usually, her assistant will call to let them know she is coming, but not seating her before her daughter arrived is just plain rude. No restaurant in LA that caters to celebrities would do that.

• No memory of having starred Atones for later disregard Or keeps the end from being hard.

  Robert%20Frost

• Women of her age group who act like divas are sexually frustrated. Miss Ross probably hasn't been laid in decades, and that Swedish magnet she was married to may not have been too voluptuous in the man-pants. She should do what these elderly ladies try on my athletic, broad-shouldered lesbian friend--pick up other chicks in the supermarket. The photo someone linked up shows Miss Ross pushing a cart with a bag of LAYS potato chips sticking out--a subconscious message, perhaps?

• [quote]Diana has been a loyal patron of La Scala for decades. Then she should stop going there and quit giving them her money.

• Fine, I'll buy that you can't seat 4 at a 12 top--but 1? If I were her I'd've said, "oh, did I say 2? Table for 1, serf, and make it snappy."

• She has probably been a loyal patron of Ralphs grocery store for decades too. Does that mean they should open a checkout line for her every time?

• R299 Nicely played, bitch - that made me laugh!

  Carol%20Ann

• Stop! being mean to Diana and give the lady a seat. She's a star!

• [quote]If I were her I'd've said, "oh, did I say 2? Table for 1, serf, and make it snappy." So you are saying you'd be just as big a cunt as Diana Ross is.

• All you queens defending the restaurant would have been hysterical with fury if this had happened to Cher or Streisand or Midler. But when it comes to Diana y'all suddenly want to take the restaurant's side. Fucking racist fags.

• Only Cher..she is still somewhat relevant. I hate to break it to an elder gay (ie; R326) but very few people care about these fossils.

• for r319

  http%3A//www.zazzle.com/swedish+magnets

• r326, before you posted, I thought about what you wrote. I asked myself that very question: If this were any of those you mention would I still say they have themselves to blame? My answer still is yes, with a caveat: I do believe they would have made an exception for Streisand(even post "Guilt Trip!") because, love her, hate her, or be indifferent, her stardom is in a class by itself;at a level at which Ross, Midler and Cher do not belong. Which gets me to judgement. Streisand would not have put herself in this position in the first place. Again, we are woefully tragically mired in bogotry, homophobia and ageism. In this instance, however it wasn't Diana's color, it was her age and faded stardom. And to a certain extent, La Scala is full of shit, too. I have a hard time believing that if it were Beyonce who wanted to be seated while waiting for Jay-z something tells me they would have accomodated her. Gee, what's the difference between Ross and Beyonce?

  Della

• Come on, all this shit about relevancy -- when, again, it's a stupid rule. That place lives for celebrity guests. They should've let it go in the name of basic respect. I would expect them to do the same to Nancy Reagan or any other elder, regardless of "what they've done lately". Nobody's saying worship these people -- but don't treat them bad either, just for kicks.

• [quote]Swedish magnet she was married to I believe the word you're looking for is "magnate."

• Norwegian magnate...

  Arne%20Naess

• R331, Diana's magnet was not Swedish, but Norwegian.

  http://www.zazzle.com/norwegian magnets

  Oslo Mo

• What a narcissistic cuntch.

• Didn't Ross' Scandinavian curate dump HER?

• Now, let me get this straight. Diana Ross was the gal in the TV show, "The Avengers", back in the 60s, right?

• R336 = waiter at La Scala

• I'm no fan of Diana, I hate her attitude. But if it could only have been Janet Jackson!!

• Of course, if it were Janet and someone was blocking her from the food, there would have been bloodshed.

• If she had waited for a table like everyone else, how many people would have thought better of our. She's more than a DIVA now, she's just a bitch.

• it is absurd that this stupid restaurant wouldn't seat her. i've been there, it's no great shakes. to make a star of the calibre of diana ross stand and wait to be seated is absolutely ridiculous in a town which houses the entertainment industry. like her or not, she is a legend and is an academy award nominated actress. treat her with respect.

• [336], That was Diana RIGG in the Avengers.

• [quote]Didn't Ross' Scandinavian curate dump HER? Yep. He dumped her back in the late 90's to be with some young white woman that he had a baby with.

• R342 nothing gets past you, does it?

  Except maybe sarcasm?

• Lets start a thread on old broads who went out with grace and dignity in their senior years....*crickets*

• LOL @ r342. I love replies like this.

• Diana's "Norwegian prince of a husband" dumped her ON LIVE TV during an interview on some talk show. Interestingly, he married a skag named Camilla.

• Part of the problem might come from the fact that Miss Ross would know which section of their dining room they put the VIPs in. She might demand to be seated at a table the restaurant was already holding for an equally important guest. You don't want to have to bump a reservation for a bossy walk-in. If I may hazard a guess, I bet Miss Ross is not a big believer in tipping the maitre d' for the privilege of securing a good table without a reservation.

• 343 -- it gets worse. After he dumped Ross he re-joined the Greenwich country club he'd resigned from when they married (because it was restricted.) He was killed in a skiing accident or something, wasn't he?

• Well now this resaurant is stuck having to treat all VIP personalities like the rif raff, because people will be watching. Or, they'll have to fire someone and publically apologize, but it's too late for that.

• There's something missing here. Is it possible Ross stiffed them on tips or even a check in the past, or behaved badly while she was drunk? (I think her kids had to force her into rehab recently.) I mean, how do you *not* recognize Diana Ross?

• [quote]I mean, how do you *not* recognize Diana Ross? Has Mary Wilson become a waitress at the restaurant, does anyone know?

• [quote]Well now this resaurant is stuck having to treat all VIP personalities like the rif raff, because people will be watching An upscale restaurant in a rich neighborhood can designate certain customers as VIPS without relegating its rank-and-file guests to the status of "riff raff."

• The restaurant was wrong.

• [quote]I mean, how do you *not* recognize Diana Ross? If you're a kid in your 20's, particularly a straight male, it could happen. Kids that age just don't know who anyone who isn't currently in the media are. Diana Ross has been out of the public eye for a long time and I wouldn't be surprised if a 20-something didn't recognize her on sight.

• The restaurant was NOT wrong. They have every right to set policy and expect EVERYONE to follow it. Especially a has-been like Diana Ross.

• You're wrong, r356....Diana Ross is a big star, and should have been seated immediately.

• [quote]An upscale restaurant in a rich neighborhood can designate certain customers as VIPS without relegating its rank-and-file guests to the status of "riff raff. She, obviously, isn't a VIP of this establishment.

  La%20Scala

• I bet the folks at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant gets Diana a fucking table without all this commotion and disrespect. Right this way Miss Ross.

• The Supremes - You Can’t Hurry Love

  http%3A//gozie.com/video/GMGHH241ADG1/The-Supremes-You-Can8217t-Hurry-Love-The-Ed-Sullivan-Show

• R356 = Diane, trolling the sites for a mention.

• R360, that was the time Diane's clip-on earring fell off and, without missing a beat, she caught it with her hand and finished the song on one earring. Now that's a DIVA and please show her to her seat immediately next time.

  Ryan%20Stone

• Oh r.357, Diana hasn't been a big star since 1983!

• I can't sleep not knowing where Miss Ross is sleeping.

  Mary%20Wilson