A Saudi Arabian princess may be the first person in Orange County to be prosecuted for human trafficking after California's Proposition 35 raised the penalty for the crime last November. The woman, a Saudi national named Meshael Alayban, has been accused of slavery after holding her maid against her will in her…
Mittens Mildegard Romnoneybags IV is running for President and against his own reputation for acting like a shell-shocked alien who has just been beamed from a planet made of gold in the year 3000. To combat this unfortunate reputation for acting stilted and robotic, his campaign has launched an offensive where they…
When domestic workers are in the spotlight, it's often as part of a negative narrative. Whether it's Dominic Strauss-Khan's alleged assault of a maid or the maid suing the writer of The Help, the positivity just isn't there. There is also the very real truth that many domestic workers are exploited, underpaid and…
Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry is working on a pilot called Devious Maids, which seems to be loosely based on a Mexican telenovela Disorderly Maids Of The Neighborhood. The premise: Four maids (Ugly Betty's Ana Ortiz, Entourage's Dania Ramirez, Chasing Papi's Roselyn Sanchez, Scrubs's Judy Reyes) with big…
According to news reports out of Saudi Arabia, Saudi women are outraged that the government plans to allow Moroccan maids into the country to replace Filipina and Indonesian women, out of the belief that Moroccan women will seduce their husbands. Oh, by the way: There's a vacuum in the Saudi domestic market in…
Whatever you think about The Help, at least it's sparked a larger conversation about domestic workers' lives — and maybe even their rights.
Oscar winner Hattie McDaniel famously said she would rather get paid $700 a week for playing a maid than $7 for being one, after civil rights groups criticized the portrayal of black characters in Gone With The Wind. Seventy years later, The Help and Viola Davis are enmeshed in a similar controversy.
What do at-home caregivers and executive assistants have in common? They toil, often on the sidelines, know the intimate details of their employers' lives — and are usually women.
Actress Lupe Ontiveros has played a maid more than 150 times. "I'd get parts if I spoke the way they wanted me to speak," she says. "I did it because it was an investment in my career."
