Oprah's Encounter With Racism Results In Apology From Swiss Tourism Office

[BainsBane]

Billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey says she ran into Swiss racism when a clerk at Trois Pommes, a pricey Zurich boutique, refused to show her a $38,000 handbag, telling one of the world's richest women that she wouldn't be able to afford it. Winfrey earned $77 million in the year ending in June, according to Forbes magazine.

"She said: `No, no, no, you don't want to see that one. You want to see this one. Because that one will cost too much; you will not be able to afford that,'" Winfrey, appearing on the U.S. television program "Entertainment Tonight," quoted the clerk as saying. "And I said, `Well, I did really want to see that one.' And she refused to get it."

She brought up the incident during an interview about her new movie, "Lee Daniels' The Butler," which opens next week and focuses on civil rights and race relations in the U.S. She was asked to open up about her own experiences with discrimination.

Swiss tourism officials and the boutique owner were quick to offer apologies Friday.

"We are very sorry for what happened to her, of course, because we think all of our guests and clients should be treated respectfully, in a professional way," Daniela Baer, a spokeswoman for the Swiss tourism office, told The Associated Press.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/09/oprah-racism-swiss-tourism-office_n_3731165.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

[iemitsu]

1. Guess the Swiss are embarrassed by the ambassadorial skills

of the boutique clerk.

[BainsBane]

2. As they well should be

It's a PR disaster for the country.

[iemitsu]

3. Yep, the Oprah incident coupled with the recent moves to restrict the movements of immigrants

is making Switzerland look like a rather intolerant place.
They'll have to invest in the facial-recognition technology, the boutique owner lamented not having, to insure that this never happens again.

[Raine]

4. $38.000 for a handbag

it's Oprah's money she can spend it however she wants. I just wonder what makes it worth that much and what kind of person even would think to design something that is going to cost that much.

[Scootaloo]

5. What makes it worth that much...

Last edited Sat Aug 10, 2013, 07:53 AM - Edit history (1)

Is that dumb rich people are impressed by other dumb rich people who spend $38,000 on a fucking handbag. That's really all it is, an eight dollar bag with thirty seven thousand, nine-hundred and ninety-two dollars worth of dumbfuck status attached.

[ZombieHorde]

8. Sociologists agree with you. nt

[wundermaus]

6. 38,000 $ for a "handbag"...

More money than I earn in a year...
for a handbag.
hmmmm.
why do I feel such profound sadness?
What would you do if you earned 77 million dollars a year?
I know I would not spend 38,000 $ on a handbag.

[BainsBane]

7. I don't know why it comes as a shock to people that rich people are rich

and can buy whatever they want. The point is despite the fact she is one of the wealthiest people in the world, she is still subject to blatant discrimination because of the color of her skin.

[John2]

9. I don't know?

I would like to know more about the encounter. I don't know if it would have anything to do with race, because the President of the United States is Black. You actually believe she would have told the President or First lady the samething? How about famous Athletes such as Michael Jordan or entertainers, like a JayZ or Beyonce? Oprah herself is very well known as a celebrity. She is leaving something out. I could see if it was a lesser known person. The very wealthy have a World of their own and don't mix with us ordinary folks. Maybe the employee honestly didn't know her and Oprah should have told her. Maybe the owners should have assisted their special VIP.

[BainsBane]

10. Racism doesn't exist because the President is black?

Is that really what you are saying? If you want to know about the incident, READ. Read this OP, read the article at the link, and read any of the other threads in GD or do a Google news search. How hard is that?

Denying that racism is a factor is just ridiculous. Obviously the clerk didn't know Oprah. She didn't need to know her. The woman assumed Oprah couldn't afford the purse based on nothing but looking at her. What do you think she saw looking at Oprah that made her think she couldn't afford the bag? Do you think Oprah wears cheap clothes and shoes? What is it that makes you deny reality?

Is you position that black people can be treated like shit as long as they aren't famous? That the clerk would have treated Oprah respectfully if she had known her, but otherwise she should just assume a black person couldn't afford a purse? Is that your position? If stores only sell to famous people from the media, they aren't going to stay in business. Most wealthy people are not publicly known. Your post assumes it's perfectly fine to treat a black person like shit as long as they aren't famous. Your excuse doesn't even make sense.

[woolldog]

11. It's amazing the lengths some will go to

deny the existence of racism. It doesn't get much more blatant than this, yet the guy you're responding to is doing all sorts of mental gymnastics to deny the obvious. Hilarious.

[Phentex]

12. It happened in the other thread too.

Why do people feel the need to justify racism? I honestly don't get it.