Having absurdly compared the George Zimmerman self-defense against a violent attack by Trayvon Martin to the murder of Emmett Till, Oprah Winfrey has decided to call a store clerk in Switzerland racist for refusing to show Oprah a $38,000 pocketbook.
Via The Daily News, Oprah Winfrey’s brush with racism:
Switzerland is desperately trying to make peace with Oprah Winfrey.A trip to a tony Zurich shop ended in a disturbing racial encounter for the billionaire media mogul — a national humiliation that forced the Swiss tourism board to issue a public apology.Winfrey said she was in town for Tina Turner’s wedding last month and stopped in the posh Trois Pommes boutique where she asked a clerk to see a $38,000 Tom Ford bag behind a glass case.“She says, ‘No, it’s too expensive,’” Winfrey, 59, recounted to Entertainment Tonight this week.“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.’”“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 between June 2012 and June 2013, said she left without making a further scene over the “Jennifer” bag, which is named for Jennifer Aniston, rather than give the clerk a commission….“We are fuming — this person acted terribly wrong. We are sorry this happened to @oprah!,” a rep for the Swiss Tourism office tweeted Thursday.But the shop’s owner told Reuters the flap was all a big misunderstanding caused by the clerk’s imperfect English.”This is an absolute classic misunderstanding,” owner Trudie Goetz, who also attended Turner’s wedding, told the news agency, suggesting that her employee had been trying to give Winfrey multiple options.
Lack of understanding makes sense. Is there some evidence the shop turns away blacks, or refuses to show blacks expensive bags? Before making an accusation of racism on these facts, you need some more facts.
But between the Emmett Till comments and the Switzerland boutique, we’re all talking about Oprah for the first time in a long time… so it’s working for her.
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Update: Apparently this is not the first time Oprah has been upset at not being treated as the Oprah and then claiming racism.
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