The Legend of the Grape Lady
Written by Bill G on March 10th, 2007 in TV, Trainwrecks, accidents, celebrities, culture, food, funny video.
There’s a legend ’round here. A legend ’bout a lady. A grape lady.
They say she was a reporter in the late 90s, just doin’ a story like all reportin’ types are wont to do. A story ’bout a grape stomping competition. They say she started stompin’ on some ol’ grapes down by the winery - the Chateau Elan, ya’see. Then she got ta’ cheatin’ on that grape stompin’, tryin’ to beat out the other lady that be stompin’ there with her. Turns out the goddess of the vineyard don’t like cheaters. An’ she got to punishin’ the grape lady - a harsh punishment, a painful punishment. She caused the grape lady to fall - right off that platform, right to the ground! They say you could hear her screams miles away! Screams of agony! They say the camera kept on filmin’, and people all over the country could turn on their TV sets and see first hand the wrath of the goddess of the vineyards.
Soon after, the grape lady disappeared. Some folk’ say she never existed. But I knows better. Yes sir, I knows. She’s out there. Waitin’ to get her turn again - to win that grape stompin’ contest. That’s why they say every grape stompin’ contest since has been haunted by the grape lady. If you listen, you can hear her ghostly scream - “Oww! Ohh! Oww! I can’t breathe! Aowww! Aowww!”
Determined to track down the grape lady, we at Odd Culture started our investigation at the Chateau Elan Winery and Resort. This is where the incident began.
The grape lady’s name was Melissa Sander, and she worked for MyFox Atlanta, which is Channel 5, in Atlanta, GA. Soon after the “incident” (AKA Bad Day @ Good Day Atlanta), Melissa Sander ran away to WTEN Albany, working as a weekend meteorologist, where according to one person, acted like she owned the world. Of course, everyone knew the real story - that she was just “owned” by a bunch of grapes.
Sometime in 2004 she jumped ship again, this time setting up shop at Fox 29 Philadelphia. At some pointafter that, it seems she jumped over to UPN 57, which is now known as CW Philly. Apparently, she was fired in 2006.
This is where the trail runs cold. She seems to have disappeared. Has she finally escaped? Settled down on an island far away where nobody has internet access? Did she really ascend into grape heaven?
Anybody with any information leading to Melissa Sanders will get a batch of chambourcin grapes from us. Grape Lady, we can still hear your screams…
March 12th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
I believe in Karma. I’m old enough to know now that now. One day you will fall and be in such severe pain that you will beg GOD, dolphins or Jesus himself to stop the pain. And it wont come. Remember what I said. It will happen, it’s just a matter of when..
March 12th, 2007 at 10:06 pm
By the way, Ms Sanders broke 5 ribs and punctured her lung. She almost died. Karma will come to you soon enough…
March 12th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
Dear Anonymous:
So you’re old enough to believe in Karma. I’m glad to hear you made it to high school. Please write back if you make it to college.
March 12th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
After CW Philly, she was at NBC 17 in Raleigh Durham, where she won a “2006 Couldn’t Do It Without You Award.” She’s not at that network now, though. It’s like she, ah, fell off the face of the earth…
March 16th, 2007 at 11:25 am
I don’t believe in god, or karma. When i heard about this i laughed. I know im young, && i dont know whats going to happen to me in the future, but i think that what i know right now, may be true.
March 26th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
She is still living in Raleigh… for now.
April 4th, 2007 at 2:12 am
I wonder if Ms. Sander looks back on this and laughs. I know what happened to her sucked hardcore, but I still couldn’t help but to laugh–especially at the stellar support of her news team. “Bad Day at Good Day, Atlanta” indeed. And what the heck were they doing putting that platform so high anyway?
Also, I disagree with Anonymous. It’s not quite right to judge you on how your presented this story. I appreciated that this site was here to let me know who she was and that she made it out ok.
April 11th, 2007 at 9:52 am
How is it that I am just finding out about this? I GREW UP there as well as worked at the winery for 5 years…!?!?!?!? That must have been under the old winemaker. They stopped doing any grape-stomping years ago - I guess people were too weak-stomached to mush around in fresh fruit? Or maybe they just didn’t want to take on the liability of people doing dumb stuff like that… and BTW - the stage was probably set up by the NEWS company, and it would have been so hihg so that they coul hget a good shot of the winery in the background. Where they are standing is actually a good 50′ below the elevation of the winery…
and even more comical? they installed this statue in front of the winery just a few years after this incident - do you think it rubs Sander the wrong way???
April 11th, 2007 at 10:20 am
whoops, here’s the statue
http://images.worldofstock.com/thumbs/ASC1656.jpg
April 22nd, 2007 at 3:13 am
Cool! A Legend of the Grape Lady statue! lol
May 2nd, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Wow, this is the most amazing video I’ve ver seen. She got what was coming to her because she tried to cheat.
I’m being her for Halloween this year.
May 14th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
I think you guys are the most horrible people I have ever met in my life. I personally know Melissa and she is one of the nicest and caring people I have ever met. She never talks about it because it hurt her so much inside. You know, that day she was severely hurt. She broke many ribs. And through all the pain, she got up and continued her broadcast. Afterwards, she was immediately taken to the hospital.
I can’t believe how selfish people can be, thinking that other peoples’ pain is funny. This not only hurt her, but it hurt me too. It hurts me to know there are actually people out there like you guys.
Sincerely,
Someone who actually cares about other people
May 21st, 2007 at 4:51 pm
You are a complete jackass. Didn’t this story happen in the 1990’s? Get a life and stop printing this story. She is a greate person and doesn’t need this CRAP!!!!!!
May 24th, 2007 at 4:11 am
The music video is better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApzPZgUwDaE
May 28th, 2007 at 4:27 am
This video is funny on so many levels. hahahahaa. First because of her personality flaws and getting pwnt while trying to cheat. 2nd, most obviously, is the hilarious sounds she makes. Like a bloodhound bayin away at a treed a coon. 3rd well, is because she is on the verge of being obese, and obese people are always funny. She surely left a crater in the earth. 4th is the reaction of the other woman stomping, just standing there for so long like deer in the headlights, and the newscasters reaction back at the station, and how the black woman has to try so hard to refrain from laughing…. hahahahahah. What a lame fattass cheater. The goddess of the vineyard punishing her bit was on point, lol, true story.
June 18th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
wow is that real?
October 13th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I laughed myself to sleep
October 19th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
So pleased that she was ok despite her injuries , after having just seen the video on youtube I just wanted to make sure she was not disabled in any way.
November 24th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
I heard her lung was not punctured but she got the wind knocked out of her… and she was trying to cheat and she was going to lose anyways… so if you really think about it… the moral of the story is that cheaters fall off a barrel of grapes and make sounds like augh augh augh augh AAUUUUGH!! Ostop Ostop… I can’t breathe ugh ugh… So I mean think about it. If she would’ve played fair like the rest of us. And the fact that she is alright now is good too.
November 27th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Dude….One of the funniest vids I’ve ever seen.
November 28th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
The video of her falling was unbelieveble, but the music video is the funniest.
November 29th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Oh… my… God… you people are so freakin funny, I almost broke four ribs laughing. “The moral of thr story is that cheaters fall off a barrel of grapes…” HAHAHAHA!!!! I can hardly type!! The internet is GREAT! (I do feel bad for her, but I can’t stop LAUGHING!)
December 16th, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Hey, this is one of those things that happen to you and you either a) let it torture you for the rest of your life or b) enjoy the b-celebrity fame, jump on the talk show circuit and print up t-shirts. I hope this woman chooses B; much better karma. Also, goodness knows I’d cough up $20 for an authentic grape-lady t-shirt any day.
December 30th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
lol i think shes hurt well no shit
December 30th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
haha! that is halrious!!! but seriously how did she fall? like duh she fell off of the platform but she was stomping grapes…..haha
December 31st, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Cheaters never prosper rofl
January 25th, 2008 at 1:07 am
[...] grape lady has quite an Internet following, but her current whereabouts are not known. According to Odd Culture, after “the incident” she jumped around to a bunch of local news stations and then fell [...]
February 7th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I’m actually glad to hear that she went on to live a normal life. I’m sorry about the broken ribs, but, from the video, it looks like it could be a lot worse (neck, spine).
February 13th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
This video is very old - Howard Stern used to play the audio of her screaming everytime a porn star came on the show, that was back in the early to mid 90’s. And yes, it is funny because she was obviously fooling around when she fell, it’s not like she was hit by a car. No one would laugh at that. But she did cause the fall herself. Sucks to be you, Missy. Next time, watch what you’re doing.
February 15th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
“Warrior”… you dumbass, she wasn’t “cheating,” she was being lighthearted. Also, those “hilarious” noises you mention were the sounds of a human being trying desperately to get oxygen - which is sort of hard to do when you have a rib tearing a hole in your lung!
They are the most-pitiful sounds I’ve ever heard and I can only feel deep compassion for her. Evidently, you don’t know how painful even ONE cracked rib can be, much less FIVE.
Die, you fuckin’ bastard-ass kid.
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:47 pm
c’mon now, if you have pity on grape lady’s sole then you also have to have pity on the fuckin’ bastard-ass kid laughing at her. “ay it happen 2U” is an idiot. Go TEAM!
February 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 pm
I am a 2nd cousin of the one and only Grrrrrape lady!!! She wanted me to post that “May this happen 2u” in no way represents her or her thoughts. He is a total deusch bag
February 23rd, 2008 at 12:02 am
I worked years and years with concrete finishers and bricklayers and worst of all mechanical engineers, and was subjected to so much tasteless vulgar profane disgusting disturbing off-color humor it would make a career soldier’s crew cut stand straight up. So I’m not thin-skinned. But I have to say, anybody who finds this the least bit amusing is one sick and wretched son of a bitch. When the moment comes when you are reminded of your own mortality, I hope you can pass through it without a whimper. My guess is, you’ll cry like momma’s wittle boy who skinned his wittle knee. It’s always that way: those who laugh hardest at others’ misfortunes are the first to bawl like brats in the mud when it’s their turn. Sick, confused, morbid old world we live in, so it is.
February 24th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I lol’d
o, o, o, o,o oooo,
February 26th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Neither do I believe in “KARMA”,nor do I care what happened to her.
I think it´s EFFING hilarious. Maybe she DID puncture a lung. I DON`T CARE. I´m still laughing.HAHAHAHAH! It´s so funny, I could fall off a 50 inch high platform,puncture a lung and scream”AUUCH AUCCH OH STOP!”
March 1st, 2008 at 2:11 am
wow…haha… easily the funniest video on the internet to date. i laughed so hard i cried… tears actually fell off my face (much like grape lady). I do believe in karma but no way laughing at this video will effect my karma… god would even laugh at this video… i’m sure of it
March 2nd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Oh My God!!
I love the grape lady, and that kid that said she’s on the verge of being obese! Some of you guys need to chill though, just because you laugh at someone doesn’t make you a bad person. Besides, she’s a bitch, did you hear how when she steps into the bucket she says “that’s disgusting”, way to be a bitch and insult the vinery establishment that you’re freaking broadcasting from! Anyway, there’s no way she broke her ribs and punctured her lung, if that was the case she really couldn’t breathe and couldn’t say “I can’t breathe”. She’s just a really unlikeable person who got hurt and everyone laughs at ( I love how the news anchor suppresses a laugh right before she says “make sure she is”.
Great stuff, props to all of you and especially who ever wrote the article!
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Many posters above say “she was cheating.” It was a fluff news story for heavens sake! She was kidding around. Although it can be funny to see someone fall, it shouldn’t be funny to see someone get hurt. And yes, people with broken ribs can breath and they hurt a lot.
When you talk about Karma in posts above, remember it cuts both ways and its still got scores to settle.
March 8th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Street Warrior,
1. Jackass
2. Jackass
3. Jackass and loser
4. Lameass loser and maybe, cheater
March 12th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
Actually the real idiot in this story is the producer who couldn’t think quickly enough to cut away from her while she was in pain.
The real funny part, to me anyway, is the two bubbleheads who have to try to talk without cue cards when the camera cuts back to them.
Also, if Ms. Sander is still hurt and embarassed about this that’s a shame. She shouldn’t be. And judging by the picture the incident seemed to agree with her. She’s pretty attractive.
March 15th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I have made a discovery that shows where the grape lady is now. Thanks to very reliable sources and a video of a news broadcast, i have found out that the gape lady has fled to europe. The sources are drying, but i belive shee is in germany doing local news broadcasts due to a video i saw from a source. THE GRAPE LADY WILL NOT DIE!!! she can break every bone in her body, entertain everyone in the world, but she will live to fall another day!!!!
March 16th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
lol at lakk’s comment above mine
i did laugh and felt pained for the grapes lady
and appalled at the lack of reaction from her co workers and guest.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Someone must put a link from youtube to this site cuz they convinced of the death of M. Sanders…
actually thats how i ended here, triying to find the true about the grape lady. Thank, really thanks for the info.
March 24th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Melissa,
I understand that you have some friends who visit this blog, so I hope that they tell you that you have supporters on here as well. I actually did a search to find out if you were okay after your fall. That’s how I found this blog. I want you to know that not all people are uncaring idiots. You have no reason to hang your head in shame. When people make light of your accident, it merely shows their moronic nature. It makes them look foolish, not you. Best of luck to you!
March 28th, 2008 at 2:49 am
karma will come to all 400,000 viewers of this great clip.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
the first anonymous is full of BS, FYI.
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Johnny Q and the rest of you who can’t seem to find humor in this are morons. You are actually the minority here — most people do find it funny. Only uptight morons don’t. From the vid, the fall didn’t look that hard and it appeared she only got the wind knocked out of her. OBVIOUSLY, no one expected her to die or be seriously injured. Maybe it wouldn’t be as funny if she didn’t make a dying walrus sound and wasn’t trying to show off, it wouldnt have been as funny. If it looked like she was seriously injured, i’m sure most people wouldn’t have found it as funny.
Oh and by the way, FUNNIEST site ever. I laughed even harder at the music video.
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:44 pm
A painting someone did of grape lady:
http://nerdkore.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/grape-stomping-lady-fall-med.jpg
April 8th, 2008 at 3:36 am
I have felt both sides of this masterpiece. Before seeing the music video I felt concerned for her safety (that’s how I stumbled upon this website.. ‘fox news lady grapes dies’… thx google). However, after viewing the music video I have concluded that this is the funniest shit ever
April 27th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
LOL@ personal friend of Melisa…..LOL! of course we laugh at other peoples pain! cuz its friggin hilarious!!!! if it happened to you, we would also laugh!
hahahaha OWWWW OWWWWW OWWWWWWW
April 28th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Don’t bother replying to me, because the chances of me visiting this site again are slim to none. I think all of the preachy people that have posted on here are super lame. It’s a funny video. If you want human creulty at its worst, watch America’s Funniest Home Videos. This one clip will not inspire karma to come and get me, nor will it incur the wrath of god. The fact is that some people need to loosen up and get over themselves. I sincerely hope whoever posts something like “I believe in karma” or “you’re sick for laughing at this” gets raped by a rabid goat and his emu buddy. How’s that for karma?
May 27th, 2008 at 6:56 am
bitch got pwned by a bucket of grapes… doesn’t get much more embarassing than that folks
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:58 am
Yes, it is funny when people fall, trip, etc., but that doesn’t mean you have to rub it in. And calling her a “bitch” when you don’t even know her? Yeah, shows what kind of person you are :). And to Mike Cunt, imagine yourself in her shoes. Falling, then gasping for air and making noises. Yes, like you said, we would laugh at you too :). Thanks, and have a great day.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I have my own concerns for the woman, but I also can’t deny the hilarity of the video and various video edits around the internet. Yeah, I wouldn’t want her to be seriously injured from her mishap, but the comedy is in the act itself not so much the aftermath of rather or not she was seriously hurt. When people trip/fall it gets laughs. Clumsiness is one of those things that most of us grew up laughing at while watching cartoons, so you can’t blame a person for laughing at this. As far as karma goes, that is just nonsense. Also if you really want to believe in karma, then its only fair that I get to laugh at this video seeing as how I’ve taken a fall down a flight of stairs over a decade ago in highschool and was laughed at, so that would make it my turn to laugh. Seriously though, if we should be scared of karma, then we may as well go cower in a corner over broken mirrors, black cats, and the number 13.
Also, this is the internet… if you can’t handle people being “cruel” and making a joke out of everything, then I suggest you call your ISP and cancel your account. Like it or not, this is what the internet is full of. Enjoy or GTFO
August 9th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Can someone please find the extended version of this where the chateau girl climbs back onto the platform, trips and falls onto the grape lady and then a bird flys down, lands on the grape bucket, then it over turns falling on the grape ladys butt and she crawls around like a turtle for a few minutes?
August 15th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I have it on good authority that this young woman ended up performing in Ring-a-ling Brothers’ circus. If you think it’s tough to watch the video, try watching it live seven nights a week. For the holidays, there’s a special show where she falls from the grapes dressed as Santa. They even have a mechanical Rudolf standing by looking concerned. Very moving.
August 19th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
The “grape lady” in this video is in fact me. While I do not appreciate the comments of those finding my pain “laughable”, I do, to a degree, enjoy this extra bit of infamy online. While as crude as most of you are, you are also allowing me to live on forever in this online world.
And yes it hurt - alot.
August 20th, 2008 at 2:46 am
So if you really are the “Grape Lady”, what exactly happened? Did you break something or just get the wind knocked out of you?
August 21st, 2008 at 4:20 am
Grape lady+Bear trampoline…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XurDiS8bmiI
August 21st, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Don’t worry Grape Lady. Everybody’s got an infamous thing they’ve done, and some of us are just lucky enough to get it on video. Don’t let the hataz grind you down.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:16 pm
[...] post on the FAIL blog yesterday got me to thinking about whatever happened to Fox 5’s grape lady. Turns out she lives on, even if it’s someone masquerading as her in comments: The “grape [...]
September 3rd, 2008 at 5:20 am
LOL
September 6th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
It does not matter if she is a good or bad person, despite she was playing around in the video before she fell. A person laughing at it only proves that people are not civilized or smart. People should be shocked and wonder if she was ok. It seems that people act like the people in the movie “Idiocracy” to laugh and enjoy others being hurt since they have love IQ’s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0yQunhOaU0
September 9th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Did you see the grape lady’s son on youtube skateboarding? Just like mom http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSsRBB3_ZEY
September 11th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
OK, explain to me…..she fell from 2 feet. You can not break five ribs and puncuture a lung, PLUS she had her arm going across that area when she hit the ground. Therefore, her arm broke the 24″ fall. Duh. This is hilarious. Also, I have a 128 IQ, thanks. Higher ability class, thanks. So be quiet, thanks. We aren’t laughin that she fell, we are laughing that the noise she made sounded like a dying animal.
September 11th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Just watch closely, there’s no way anyone except some 500 pound person landing on top of themselves could beak 5 ribs that way. Gosh, you people are so argumental. You’ll do anything to get attention!
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Seriously, this video is hilarious. Come on, she made WALRUS SOUNDS after falling 2 feet!! How do you not laugh at that? No matter who it happens to, it’s funny. Hell, if that happened to me, I’d laugh too.
September 26th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
It appears she still writing, see here:
http://sanfrancisco.wheretraveler.com/node/70517
October 18th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
How funny I cry with laughter every time I see it Its the greatest she thought she was better than than that and such a big deal shes nothing but a pig. She got what she had coming.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I have to admit when I first saw it I did chuckle at the clip, but the overriding thought I had was ‘I hope she’s ok’. I’m glad she suffered no long-term injuries.
The only thing I find disturbing is the vicious way that some people are defending their laughter at this clip. This woman DID NOT deserve to fall, and out of interest it doesn’t matter if you fall 2 feet or 20 feet, if you land awkwardly you could seriously injure yourself. When I was a child the older brother of a lad down my street fell from his garden wall which was about the height of the platform in the clip and broke his neck. He wasn’t paralysed luckily, but he was out of it for months on end. (He was lucky he landed on grass and shrubs as they broke his fall.) The fact that grape lady wasn’t a size zero has nothing to do with it either, so the overweight jibes are pointless. It seems to me that a lot of the nastier posts on here are from teenagers or school drop-outs, as they make for rather idiotic (and mis-spelled) reading.
I work in comedy, and I have to have a sense of humour (as otherwise I wouldn’t make a living), and all I’m pointing out is that there’s a difference between cartoon slapstick and real life accidents. She obviously got hurt, and I hope none of the more dim-witted posters on here have a similar experience. Or maybe they should. There’s nothing like a bit of empathy.
October 27th, 2008 at 2:00 am
Ms Sander, if you’re still out there - I will begin by admitting that I laughed when I first saw this clip. Not so much because you were injured (because it appeared that only the wind was knocked out of you) but because of the bland response by your colleagues in the studio. (”Oh my, she took a hard fall…” No chit, Sherlock!) The second and third time I watched it, I began to realize that there was a good chance that you were, in fact, injured. It was out of that concern that I initiated the web search which led me to this site.
I’m glad to know that you made a full recovery from your fall.
November 17th, 2008 at 4:14 am
i don’t believe any of the horrible things people have written here are true feelings. they just want to feel better about themselves by writing things that make them seem so cold and tough and against any sort of emotion. teenagers i assume. but in reality they are not like that. yes the video is funny. but no way do people not care about a woman who’s hurt or care about what happened to her. online… you can be annonymous and pretend you are hot sh-t. but inside we all know they are not like that. i would love to see how brave and clever they are if they were face to face with the woman.
November 17th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Johnny Q.
get off your high horse.
that video is funny as hell.
November 17th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
You know what will be really funny? And you’ll know it when it happens. When all of you laughing loons are on a plane at the same time and it goes down in flames and you are saying, "Gee! How odd it is that we’re all on this plane at the same time! How could this happen? Hmmm!"
And then you’ll all laugh and laugh on your way to the ground. Now THAT’S a LOL karma day!
November 19th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Hi Melissa, If you’re out there, please get in contact with me…you know where..hope all is well, Larry
November 21st, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Hey Melissa if your out there reading this, Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha, that was so funny. Hey if your hard up for money I can Pay you to perform at my kids B-Day party. LMAO, Loser!
November 21st, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Hey Lady did you have a nice trip? Hey, maybe we’ll see you next fall. Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha,
November 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Why is it always the dumpy fat ugly one who gets hurt? It couldn’t be the slender, taller, cuter girl. Poor thing. Do you think they kept filming and kept the mic on because they hated working with her? I wonder.