Well, given what the movie The Butler is about, Oprah was asked if she still experienced any prejudice today. She told about the most recent incident, which happened to be when she was in Switzerland. If she wanted to make a big stink of it then, she would have talked about it soon after it happened (since Tina Turner married July 14), but Oprah talked about it several weeks after the fact when prompted to share an experience of prejudicial treatment. People found out about the store because they did some snooping. Oprah pointedly did not say the name of the store when speaking of the experience.
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Now Oprah Winfrey insists she WAS victim of racism at Swiss store and reveals how she nearly called her friend Jennifer Aniston who the $38,000 bag was named after Oprah gave extraordinary interview to Swiss newspaper Blick claiming she experienced what 'people of black or brown color experience daily'
Oprah Winfrey insisted that she WAS a victim of racism and she experienced what 'people of black or brown color experience daily', in an interview with a Swiss newspaper published today. Oprah, one of the world's richest women, revealed on Entertainment Tonight last week that she felt discriminated against when a sales assistant in a luxury Zurich Boutique refused to show her a $38,000 handbag designed by Tom Ford and named after Jennifer Aniston.
'I was asked if I am confronted with racism,' she told Swiss daily Blick in an interview in Los Angeles on Monday night but not published until today.
Casual 'racism': Oprah, who said she was dressed nicely, told the newspaper that what she experienced was what 'people of black or brown color experience daily'
'My answer - not in the same way as others because I am so well known. Except on Twitter, no-one dares confront me with the N-word. I feel discrimination in a different way. 'My antenna receives an underlying "what is going on here?" I called Zurich an example, because it was happening.'
Asked if she was being 'particularly sensitive,' she said: 'No! I know of no black man who was never stopped by police because of his skin color, or persecuted, but it's different for women. What I've experienced in Switzerland happened only once before in my life.
'So I didn't want to indict Switzerland. It was a single incident. An incident that people of black or brown color experience daily.
She even added that she was tempted to call her friends Ford or Aniston as she stood in the store.
'That damn bag': Oprah said that if she had known the cost of the bag when she asked to see it - she probably would have thought it was too expensive
'Snub': Oprah said in the interview that shop assistants 'usually rejoice when she enters a store', owned by Trudie Goetz, above. Oprah added: 'People usually press their noses flat against the windows to see me shopping'
'It was however uncommon for that to happen to me. Believe me, usually sales people rejoice when I come to them in their business. It is very unusual that I'm not really involved when in a boutique. Outside, people usually press their noses flat against the windows to see me shopping.'
Oprah had claimed in the original Entertainment Tonight that the Italian-born sales assistant refused to show her the crocodile leather bag, the suggestion being, she implied, that as a black woman she could not afford it.
The incident happened at the Trois Pommes Boutique in Storchengasse, a street behind the ritzy Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, one of the world's wealthiest and most expensive cities.
Oprah was invited to be a guest in July at the wedding of soul singer Tina Turner in Switzerland and wanted a handbag to compliment her outfit.
She went on: 'I was the only person in the store. I had dressed myself up extra special because I know that things can get very snobby in these kinds of stores.
'The employees first check out what clothes you're wearing. Therefore I chose a Donna Karan outfit - and even washed my hair even. So nobody could mistake me for a homeless person who got lost in the store.
'The woman did not want to get down the bag which I wanted to look at. The effort was too much for her. She said to me, that the bag was simply too expensive. And I said: "I want to see it anyway." Instead she tossed me cheaper bags.
'I said: "Okay, thank you very much! But I really want to see the others." She still kept showing me the cheaper ones.
'To be honest, if I had known upfront what this damned bag cost, do you know what? The woman was right: I would not have bought the thing - far too expensive! Too expensive! $38,000! I would have fainted when I saw the price tag.'
She continued: 'The saleslady said it was the Jennifer Aniston bag that was created by Tom Ford for Jennifer. The idea went through my head that I should call Jennifer or Tom - I know them both very well. Instead I said to the saleslady: "Okay, I understand. The bag is just for Jennifer, and only she is allowed to buy it, right?
'The woman said "no, no" and tried to explain something. But I was no longer listening. I just said: "Thank you very much, you're probably right that I can't afford it."
'I went. I didn't want to make a scene. Really not. That's why it annoys me now too, that it has become this major international story. And that the names of Tom Ford and Jennifer Aniston were pulled in too. The whole thing is really quite annoying.'
She acknowledges the apologies of the owner Trudie Goetz and the anonymous saleslady but added: 'But I don't know whether the apology brings something. Discrimination is there, anywhere around the world, every day. As I said, I did not want to bring the whole of Switzerland into disrepute.
'Perhaps she never wanted to reach for the bag because it was too high up. Does anyone know? Anyway, I had a great time in Switzerland. My friend Tina Turner got married, I went for a walk every day. It's a pity that such a big deal is now being made out of this other thing.'
The publication of the frank interview will do nothing to quell the war of words currently raging between the TV talk show queen and Goetz.
Yesterday Goetz said she wanted to speak personally to Winfrey and defended her employee to the hilt, adding: ‘I don't know why she talked of racism. I am sorry, but perhaps she is being a little over-sensitive here. Maybe she was somewhat offended because she was not immediately recognized in the store.'
Now Oprah Winfrey insists she WAS victim of racism at Swiss store and reveals how she nearly called her friend Jennifer Aniston who the $38,000 bag was named after Oprah gave extraordinary interview to Swiss newspaper Blick claiming she experienced what 'people of black or brown color experience daily'
Oprah Winfrey insisted that she WAS a victim of racism and she experienced what 'people of black or brown color experience daily', in an interview with a Swiss newspaper published today. Oprah, one of the world's richest women, revealed on Entertainment Tonight last week that she felt discriminated against when a sales assistant in a luxury Zurich Boutique refused to show her a $38,000 handbag designed by Tom Ford and named after Jennifer Aniston.
'I was asked if I am confronted with racism,' she told Swiss daily Blick in an interview in Los Angeles on Monday night but not published until today.
Casual 'racism': Oprah, who said she was dressed nicely, told the newspaper that what she experienced was what 'people of black or brown color experience daily'
'My answer - not in the same way as others because I am so well known. Except on Twitter, no-one dares confront me with the N-word. I feel discrimination in a different way. 'My antenna receives an underlying "what is going on here?" I called Zurich an example, because it was happening.'
Asked if she was being 'particularly sensitive,' she said: 'No! I know of no black man who was never stopped by police because of his skin color, or persecuted, but it's different for women. What I've experienced in Switzerland happened only once before in my life.
'So I didn't want to indict Switzerland. It was a single incident. An incident that people of black or brown color experience daily.
She even added that she was tempted to call her friends Ford or Aniston as she stood in the store.
'That damn bag': Oprah said that if she had known the cost of the bag when she asked to see it - she probably would have thought it was too expensive
'Snub': Oprah said in the interview that shop assistants 'usually rejoice when she enters a store', owned by Trudie Goetz, above. Oprah added: 'People usually press their noses flat against the windows to see me shopping'
'It was however uncommon for that to happen to me. Believe me, usually sales people rejoice when I come to them in their business. It is very unusual that I'm not really involved when in a boutique. Outside, people usually press their noses flat against the windows to see me shopping.'
Oprah had claimed in the original Entertainment Tonight that the Italian-born sales assistant refused to show her the crocodile leather bag, the suggestion being, she implied, that as a black woman she could not afford it.
The incident happened at the Trois Pommes Boutique in Storchengasse, a street behind the ritzy Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, one of the world's wealthiest and most expensive cities.
Oprah was invited to be a guest in July at the wedding of soul singer Tina Turner in Switzerland and wanted a handbag to compliment her outfit.
She went on: 'I was the only person in the store. I had dressed myself up extra special because I know that things can get very snobby in these kinds of stores.
'The employees first check out what clothes you're wearing. Therefore I chose a Donna Karan outfit - and even washed my hair even. So nobody could mistake me for a homeless person who got lost in the store.
'The woman did not want to get down the bag which I wanted to look at. The effort was too much for her. She said to me, that the bag was simply too expensive. And I said: "I want to see it anyway." Instead she tossed me cheaper bags.
'I said: "Okay, thank you very much! But I really want to see the others." She still kept showing me the cheaper ones.
'To be honest, if I had known upfront what this damned bag cost, do you know what? The woman was right: I would not have bought the thing - far too expensive! Too expensive! $38,000! I would have fainted when I saw the price tag.'
She continued: 'The saleslady said it was the Jennifer Aniston bag that was created by Tom Ford for Jennifer. The idea went through my head that I should call Jennifer or Tom - I know them both very well. Instead I said to the saleslady: "Okay, I understand. The bag is just for Jennifer, and only she is allowed to buy it, right?
'The woman said "no, no" and tried to explain something. But I was no longer listening. I just said: "Thank you very much, you're probably right that I can't afford it."
'I went. I didn't want to make a scene. Really not. That's why it annoys me now too, that it has become this major international story. And that the names of Tom Ford and Jennifer Aniston were pulled in too. The whole thing is really quite annoying.'
She acknowledges the apologies of the owner Trudie Goetz and the anonymous saleslady but added: 'But I don't know whether the apology brings something. Discrimination is there, anywhere around the world, every day. As I said, I did not want to bring the whole of Switzerland into disrepute.
'Perhaps she never wanted to reach for the bag because it was too high up. Does anyone know? Anyway, I had a great time in Switzerland. My friend Tina Turner got married, I went for a walk every day. It's a pity that such a big deal is now being made out of this other thing.'
The publication of the frank interview will do nothing to quell the war of words currently raging between the TV talk show queen and Goetz.
Yesterday Goetz said she wanted to speak personally to Winfrey and defended her employee to the hilt, adding: ‘I don't know why she talked of racism. I am sorry, but perhaps she is being a little over-sensitive here. Maybe she was somewhat offended because she was not immediately recognized in the store.'
BOOM! there you go!
i don't believe a word that is coming from the shop owner/worker. every single time they talk about it another point is added to the story.
Oprah levelled some pretty serious accusations against the woman, even if she's a complete wench (and she definitely seems like one) it's important to hear her full version of events.
It's a pity the while story has been reported in such a soundbite-y way.
So..is it just me or does this sound a whole lot different from the first time Oprah told this story?To me this sounds like a sales girl who didn't want to climb on a ladder to get a $38000 bag for a customer for the 12th time only to be told that the bag is too expensive and climb back up to put it back.
It doesn't sound all that different to me. Oprah is suggesting that maybe the sales associate didn't want to climb up and get the bag, who knows? As in Oprah is theorizing over why the woman didn't just get the bag Oprah wanted to see, but it doesn't mean that's exactly what happened (and being frank and honest here, it's always amazing to me that it's up to the person on the receiving end of that kind of prejudicial treatment to come up with a theory absolving the wrongdoer). In any case, it's the woman's job to provide service to all customers. Whether Oprah was the 1st person or the 15th person in the associate's shift to ask to see that particular bag, the woman still should have shown the bag.
^The sales associate's work ethic really isn't what this is about though. Oprah basically called her racist for being lazy. I really don't understand why she would say that when none of the other bags she showed Oprah were cheap but the girl wasn't racist then? WTH?
We don't know if the sales associate was being lazy or if she'd sized up Oprah and decided that she wasn't going to show her a purse because she couldn't conceive of a black woman being able to afford it. I mean, racism doesn't only come in the form of someone being called a racial slur. It very often happens in small ways, but whatever. Oprah is not allowed to share her experience of being prejudiced against because the sales associate deigned to show her lesser-priced bags but not THE bag she wanted to see?
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This. She was showing her bags that cost $5-8K. If she thought she couldn't afford $$$$ bags she wouldnt have shown her those. Oprah needed something to get people to talk about her to promote her movie. She knew just talking about racism wouldnt spark controversy so she brought up this "non story". i am pretty sure is she was really furious when this actually happened we would have heard about it then. Timing is Everything. Perfect "non story" to get people to talk about Oprah and her movie. and in any case I am white, always carry $2K+ bag and 100% of time get incredibly cold treatment when shopping in Europe. For Anything. Not just expensive stuff. They just have different type of service there. I dont care, I am not sensitive like that. If I wanted to see $100K bag I would insist they show it to me even after they tell me: "Its Very Expensive". Just to mess with them. LOL
oh yes, the Europe factor. I must say that service in the US is very different from service in Europe. I mean, I can't generalize all countries of course, butI have noticed that people on this forum were insulted when sales associates didn't offer their service within the first 2 minutes. This is def. not the norm here, in most stores you go ask the sales people for another size 60% of the time. No one has a problem with that. Just to give a little insight.