A
top store in Switzerland has apologized to Oprah Winfrey for refusing
to let her look at a $38,000 handbag but has denied it was because the
shop assistant was being racist.
Winfrey
was shopping in the city ahead of Tina Turner's star-studded wedding to
Erwin Bach earlier this month when a shop assistant failed to recognize
her told her 'she wouldn't be able to afford' the handbag she requested
to see.
She said the incident taught her racism was still an issue - even when you are a world-famous celebrity.
Pochi yenyewe
She
told Entertainment Tonight: 'I was in Zurich the other day, in a store
whose name I will not mention. I didn't have my eyelashes on, but I was
in full Oprah Winfrey gear. I had my little Donna Karan skirt and my
little sandals. But obviously 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' is not shown in
Zurich.
'I
go into a store and I say to the woman, 'Excuse me, could I see the bag
right above your head?' and she says to me, 'No. It's too expensive.'' 
Mmiliki wa duka, Trudie Gotz
The saleswoman went on to suggest she . 'I left the store but it proves that racism is still an issue,' Oprah added.
'There's
two different ways to handle it. I could've had the whole blow-up
thing... but racism still exists, of course it does.'
The
incident took place in the chic Trois Pommes store whose owner, Trudie
Götz, ironically was also a guest at the Turner nuptials.
The
handbag in question - a crocodile skin 'Jennifer' bag by American
designer Tom Ford which he designed for Jennifer Anisten - was on sale
for 35,000 Swiss francs ($38,000) and was locked in a cabinet to prevent
shoplifting.
The store owner told the country's Blick newspaper
there had been 'a misunderstanding' caused by the assistant’s failure
to recognize Oprah but denied the snub was due to racism.
She apologized for her assistant’s behavior, saying there had been 'a misunderstanding between her and Oprah'.
'I thought her English was not quite as good as that of Oprah,' she said. 'She only meant well'
'She said it just fine, did everything right. I can not blame the staff. I see no reason to dismiss [her]'.
She has vowed to stand by the assistant and says she sees no reason to sack her following the incident.
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