Oprah Winfrey revealed she had a racist encounter while shopping in Switzerland - and the country's national tourist office issued a public apology for the experience.
Switzerland is trying to make peace with Oprah Winfrey.
The media mogul endured a shocking racist experience during a trip to posh Zurich store while in town last month for Tina Turner’s wedding -- forcing both the boutique’s owner and the Swiss Tourism board to issue public apologies.
The international incident occurred when a shop worker at Trois Pommes who didn't recognize Winfrey refused to allow her to see a $38,000 Tom Ford bag on display because she assumed it was beyond the customer's means, instead steering her to cheaper alternatives.
“I say to the woman, excuse me, may I see the bag above your head, and she says to me, ‘No, it’s too expensive,’” Winfrey recounted to Entertainment Tonight Monday night while publicizing her new movie, “Lee Daniel’s The Butler. “She said, no, no, no you want to see this one because that one will cost too much you won’t be able to afford that one.’
Winfrey didn't name the store, but it was later revealed to be a boutique for the fashion label 'Trois Pommes', in Zurich. Winfrey told Entertainment Tonight she wanted a closer look at a handbag selling for around 38,000 dollars, but the seller refused to take it off the shelf, telling Winfrey 'No, it's too expensive.'
“She refused to get it ... she said, ‘ I don’t want to hurt your feelings and I said, ‘Okay, thank you so much, you’re probably right I can’t afford it. Now why does she do that?”
Winfrey, who Forbes estimates earned $77 million in the 12 months between June 2012 and June 2013, said she left without making a scene over the “Jennifer” bag, rather than give the clerk a commission.
'misunderstanding.'
“I could have had the big blow up thing and thrown down the black card but why do that,” Winfrey told ‘E.T.’s’ Nancy O’Dell.
But the shop’s owner told Reuters the flap was all a big misunderstanding caused by the shop worker’s imperfect Englishwhile attempting to show Winfrey that the bag came in other styles.
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In an interview with Switzerland's Blick newsaper, Goetz also publcally apologized to Winfrey for any inconvenience at her store.
The incident comes eight years after Winfrey was turned away from a Hermes store in Paris when she went unrecognized. The high-end boutique later apologized to Winfrey, but claimed the snub occurred because the shop was closed for a private event.
While Winfrey may put her brush with racism behind her, Swiss officials are reeling over the bad publicity the revelation has given their country.
“We are fuming - this person acted terribly wrong. We are sorry this happened to @oprah!,” a rep for the Swiss Tourism office tweeted Thursday.
