And the Oscar for grifting goes to... Sarah Palin!

Oil money from "unfriendly" socialist countries, free trampolines, free travel for her children, designer RNC wardrobe? All perfectly OK with Sarah Palin.

Now that she's a proper TV celebrity, what's wrong with swarming the Oscar gifting suite with a large entourage and helping herself to bags of swag for "charity"?

E! Online has a nice article about it.

"They were like locusts," says one vendor at the suite, regarding Palin and her large group of hangers-on. "She showed up with like 20 people, and they immediately swarmed the place taking everything!"

We're told Palin was quite the prima donna and that she insisted the suite be opened two hours early so she could come when no looky-loos would be around.

"They told us last minute to get here superearly for [Palin]," says our rightfully annoyed source. "Then, she wouldn't let anyone take her picture or do any interviews."

For those of you who think that's a standard request—uh, it's not, especially when you're getting thousands of dollars worth of free goods. Some of the products Palin picked up included Bloom facial products, which she told the vendor she needed for her under-eye area.

But don't think Sarah stopped there.

Palin grabbed some oversize sweatshirts and tie-dyed "jeggings" for Bristol, got a blowout by colorist Erick Orellana from the Chris McMillan Salon, along with snatching up jewelry from Pascal Mouawad, Skagen Watches, Lash Food and 40 pairs of Aiaiai headphones.

A spokesperson for Aiaiai tells us Sarah said "they would be great for working out."

But was Sarah just grabby 'n' whiny for a good cause? The press release for the suite states Palin gave over $1,700 dollars to the Red Cross and planned to donate what she received at the suite to charity.

Oh, really?

Too fab she gave money, but we can assure you she did not give up any of her swag.

What a happy coincidence, the amount Sarah gave to the Red Cross is the same as demanded from Levi Johnston in the custody case...

It's been reported that one of the people from Sarah Palin's entourage who had a blowout by hair stylist Erick Orellana was Willow. How will Sarah manage to donate a blowout to charity?

Whatever Sarah Palin does with the loot, she's liable for tax on all of it.

"The Internal Revenue Service launched a campaign Thursday aimed at clarifying the tax consequences of the gift-jammed goody bags and luxury giveaway suites that surround awards ceremonies and film festivals. The bad news for every A-lister and low-level minion alike who ever pockets a freebie: It's taxable income."

Hollywood must be paying for past sins. They were hit by a modern version of the plague of the locusts...

(If anybody would like to emulate the latest grifter style and order a jacket like Sarah Palin's, look in the "Petite" collection at Nordstrom. With 50% discount, you can pick one up for only $48.90!)

HuffPo also has a good article about it.
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