Elise Amendola/AP
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 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.
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“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?”
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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.
“I could have had the big blow up thing and thrown down the black card but why do that,” Winfrey said during the interview to publicize her new movie, “Lee Daniels' The Butler.”
Swiss officials are reeling over the bad publicity.
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“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.
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"Of course that's not the case (that she was racial profiling). Who wouldn't want to sell a purse for 35,000 francs?”
In an interview with Switzerland's Blick newspaper, Goetz also publically 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 a few minutes after closing.
The high-end boutique later apologized to Winfrey, but claimed the snub occurred because the shop was closed at the time for a private event.
On Friday, Winfrey tweeted she probably wouldn’t have bought the bag anyway:
“Turns out that store clerk did me a favor. Just found out that bag was $38K!!! She was right I was NOT going to buy."
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.
RELATED: OPRAH WINFREY SPEAKS OUT ON PAULA DEEN'S N-WORD CONTROVERSY
Splash News
Oprah Winfrey (right) arrives at her hotel in Zurich last month for Tina Turner's wedding celebration weekend.
“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?”
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STEFFEN SCHMIDT/EPA
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, but the seller refused to take it off the shelf, telling Winfrey, 'No, it's too expensive.'
“I could have had the big blow up thing and thrown down the black card but why do that,” Winfrey said during the interview to publicize her new movie, “Lee Daniels' The Butler.”
Swiss officials are reeling over the bad publicity.
PHOTOS: OPRAH'S BIGGEST MOMENTS
Thomas Luethi/FAMEFLYNET
Store owner Trudie Goetz shows off her collection of handbags for sale at the 'Trois Pommes' store. She says it was all a 'misunderstanding.'
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.
RELATED: CLINTON, OPRAH TO RECEIVE MEDAL OF FREEDOM
STEFFEN SCHMIDT/EPA
The Tom Ford 'Jennifer' bag at the center of the controversy surrounding the 'Trois Pommes' boutique.
In an interview with Switzerland's Blick newspaper, Goetz also publically 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 a few minutes after closing.
The high-end boutique later apologized to Winfrey, but claimed the snub occurred because the shop was closed at the time for a private event.
On Friday, Winfrey tweeted she probably wouldn’t have bought the bag anyway:
“Turns out that store clerk did me a favor. Just found out that bag was $38K!!! She was right I was NOT going to buy."
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