Dear Oprah: Switzerland is not racist, just ask your friend Tina Turner

[Halion]

May well not have been racist at all. Perhaps Oprah just did not present herself as a viable customer. However, the black card is a favourite for these people when they are faced with the realisation that they are not as iconic as they think.

[Ulic]

Not really a big Oprah fan but I do admire her success. I will believe her on this one as what actually transpired.

Not really a big deal. Racism, yes kind of. If a hippie/bum musician white guy had attempted to look at the purse

as a gift for his wife/mother significant other I am sure his request would have been turned down as well. I don't

believe the owners version that her sales lady tried to show Oprah the handbag and Oprah declined.

[Credo]

It's really strange that the sales lady would behave like this. I mean, is she that busy with so many people looking at those expensive bags?

[Bagwan]

Anyone paying that kind of money for a frickin purse is really off the bottom of the page of the, people I give a crap about list.

Yeah, well, she probably earned the cost of that sack in the time it took you to write that post ...

Your definition of 'earned' differs entirely from mine.

This self obsessed lady has all the cachet, charm and relevance of Jerry Springer. Surely she appeals to only the lowest common denominator. 35k for a handbag? Vacuous or what? Has she forgotten her earlier life already? Her kleptomania rivals that of Imelda Marcos and a certain Thai puppet.

[Johpa]

That might be part of it but that kind of proves her point, "regular" black ladies get a racist snub in that shop.

And regular blokes like me get snubbed or ignored in high end shops all the time. Does that make white racism prevelant amongst even my fellow caucasians?

And quite frankly, I have long found Oprah to be rather dusturbing with a personality of a moist fart, making me feel just a tad uncomfortable. Does that make me racist? Because on the other hand, I have had this thing for her friend Ms. Turner ever since I saw Tina perform live with the Ikettes back in 1969.

[Credo]

So you don't like Oprah and therefore what happened to her is justified?

She was the victim of racial discrimination and she has brought it to the forefront. You can dislike anybody you want to but if you are in a business, then you should treat everyone with respect.

[JimmyTheMook]

Shop owner Trudie Goetz holds up the handbag (right) that Winfrey wanted to see

Trudie got mad style , takes some pair of balls to match those pants with that belt buckle.

The 18kt Daytona bling obviously works with anything.

[Ulysses G.]

So you don't like Oprah and therefore what happened to her is justified?

I think that his point is that if a downmarket looking white guy went into that shop and asked to look at something really expensive, he would have beem "discriminated" against too.

[Credo]

No, I think the point is that some people will use extreme examples to justify racism.

I doubt Oprah rode a bicycle to the shop and I am sure a few minutes of polite conversation could have ascertained whether this was someone who was really interested in buying something.

Of course, Oprah's big mistake may also have been that she spoke English.

[Johpa]

So you don't like Oprah and therefore what happened to her is justified?

She was the victim of racial discrimination and she has brought it to the forefront. You can dislike anybody you want to but if you are in a business, then you should treat everyone with respect.

I reckon the woman was a victim of class discrimination and in order to save face she is making it out to be racism. Make no mistake, Switzerland is the whitest of white countries and I am sure many Swiss have very few interactions with black people and may very well harbor racist thoughts. But in the world of high end luxury items and high end boutiques, even in Switzerland, the money is all that matters.

[market trader]

Anyone paying that kind of money for a frickin purse is really off the bottom of the page of the, people I give a crap about list.

Yeah, well, she probably earned the cost of that sack in the time it took you to write that post ...

Maybe she did. But I am with canuckamuck. Frankly I don't give a crap.

[Trouble]

First off Oprah is calling this racism. If anything it is discrimination because of race and I view the two differently. Is there one among us that has not made or found humor in a racist, religious, ethnic joke? Have we not among our own "kind" ever talked about others of different ethnicity, race, religion, language in a disparaging way. I would dare say that if you can make that claim you are the perfect human being. Look at some of the posts about Thais and their culture posted on this forum.

We have two different versions of what happened. We will never know what really happened. Oprah was wrong in even bringing this to the attention of the media. I like Oprah and she has actually done some wonderful things with her wealth but she needs to get over this. She is carrying around a chip on her shoulder. There is discrimination everywhere in life, be it race, education, wealth, etc. God, look at how the wealthy and elite of Thailand treat the lower classes. She should have gotten over this type of thing by now.

[bigbamboo]

Switzerland cannot be termed racist. As long as you have money you could be the devil incarnate and would still be welcome.

[Jingthing]

First off Oprah is calling this racism. If anything it is discrimination because of race and I view the two differently.

...

No cigar on that theory. You're saying the secondary definition of racism doesn't apply. But it does. By definition

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racism

[wooloomooloo]

She was the victim of racial discrimination and she has brought it to the forefront.

Agreed, racialism has been brought to the forefront, but as there are two sides to this story [an accusation and a rebuttal], I'm not certain if it was at the expense of a misunderstanding and a subsequently very embarrassed shop assistant or Harpo was deemed not to have sufficient wealth to afford such a bag.

One thing that strikes me is that this isn't some cheap bag shop and that all of the bags are high end expensive. Therefore the majority of the clientele are heeled enough to afford any bag in the shop. What's 10k +/- when the stock is priced in multiples of a minimum of 5k.

[Jingthing]

Are there copies of the Oprah bag available yet at MBK and how much?

[Payboy]

Are there copies of the Oprah bag available yet at MBK and how much?

Come on,, she doesn't shed that much skin!

[maxcatt]

Oprah"assumed" that she was not"recognized" as a Billionaire but as a "Black purse snatcher"...For her (who professes to love all people) to even mention this to the press and ruin the shops business and get the clerk fired is childish. She has done so much good for people especially when she built and funded the African school for poor black children..then it was staffed with black pedophile workers...hmmmm. A $38,000 purse being "snatched" or damaged could get the clerk fired...and what did happen to the clerk? I would love to know what type of post traumatic stress she is suffering from? This shop selling expensive purses should have CCTV and if no sound was recorded a lip reader could suffice into the "exact" translation...did the clerk speak English,French Swiss,Swiss German or was she not accustomed to Chicago ghetto dialect? Perhaps Oprah's 3 ft afro intimidated the poor clerk...I guess the truth will come out in the "National Enquirer"...lol..if Lindsay Lohan "borrowed" a purse fro this shop would this also make news?? Oprah is now counseling Lindsay Lohan on her drug abuse and how to become a "healthier & better person." Drama queens..drama queens...who really cares? lol..

[barefoot1988]

that bag retails for 25000 pound? i could get that under a thousand here, and in baht.

[Card]

Sounds like Switzerland is a great place to live and visit. IF YOU ARE RICH, THAT IS.

[chuckd]

Yet another case of a celebrity thinking they are more important than they really are. Much ado about nothing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE OPRAH

0813_oprah_tmzOprah Winfrey says she's kinda sorta "sorry" for the fallout that ensued after she told the media about a "racist" encounter at a purse store in Switzerland ... saying, "I'm really sorry that it got blown up."

Yeah, right.

Oprah addressed the media at the premiere of "The Butler" in L.A. last night -- backpedaling after the shop in question started to refute O's allegations of racism during an incident last month.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2013/08/13/oprah-switzerland-purse-story-apology-racism/#ixzz2bupMOWow

Visit Fishwrapper: http://www.fishwrapper.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...and...

EXCLUSIVE: Swiss store owner at center of Oprah's 'racist' handbag storm demands to speak to star after she says 'sorry for the fuss'

By ALLAN HALL IN ZURICH

PUBLISHED: 17:27 GMT, 13 August 2013 | UPDATED: 19:20 GMT, 13 August 2013

The owner of the upscale Swiss boutique where Oprah Winfrey claimed she was barred from buying a $38,000 by a ‘racist’ sales assistant today demanded to speak to the star she branded 'over-sensitive' and insisted her employee did ‘everything right’.

The rather fearsome-looking Trudi Goetz said she wanted to speak with the talk show billionairess ‘as soon as possible’ and also revealed her petrified member of staff will not be sacked or punished.

She said: ‘I don't know why she talked of racism.....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2391880/Oprahs-racist-handbag-Swiss-store-owner-brands-star-sensitive.html#ixzz2bupvO3NJ

[Sydebolle]

Nothing else to do? I am Swiss and I know how things are in those high flyer venues. Those sales people in these boutiques are trained to deal discreetly with VIPs, speak countless languages and are highly professional.
The boutique owner of said handbag "outlet" was likewise invited to Tina Turners wedding and yes, it is a fact, that Oprah is not known all over Switzerland since the American talk show culture just does not fly in the Helvetic Confoederation.
Regretfully most of you cannot read German as the Swiss papers present a completely different picture. If a "white" is arrogant, then the "white" is arrogant - full stop. If a "coloured" is arrogant then everybody else is a racist.

Get over it; if Tom, Dick or Harry would have been treated like that they would just vote with their feet. Pathetic!

[RogueLeader]

Nothing else to do? I am Swiss and I know how things are in those high flyer venues. Those sales people in these boutiques are trained to deal discreetly with VIPs, speak countless languages and are highly professional.

The boutique owner of said handbag "outlet" was likewise invited to Tina Turners wedding and yes, it is a fact, that Oprah is not known all over Switzerland since the American talk show culture just does not fly in the Helvetic Confoederation.

Regretfully most of you cannot read German as the Swiss papers present a completely different picture. If a "white" is arrogant, then the "white" is arrogant - full stop. If a "coloured" is arrogant then everybody else is a racist.

Get over it; if Tom, Dick or Harry would have been treated like that they would just vote with their feet. Pathetic!

"Coloured"?

[harrry]

Nothing else to do? I am Swiss and I know how things are in those high flyer venues. Those sales people in these boutiques are trained to deal discreetly with VIPs, speak countless languages and are highly professional.

The boutique owner of said handbag "outlet" was likewise invited to Tina Turners wedding and yes, it is a fact, that Oprah is not known all over Switzerland since the American talk show culture just does not fly in the Helvetic Confoederation.

Regretfully most of you cannot read German as the Swiss papers present a completely different picture. If a "white" is arrogant, then the "white" is arrogant - full stop. If a "coloured" is arrogant then everybody else is a racist.

Get over it; if Tom, Dick or Harry would have been treated like that they would just vote with their feet. Pathetic!

"Coloured"?

no Schwartz

[Ace of Pop]

My Wife thinks Oprah is a Search Engine,like Firefox

[Sydebolle]

Nothing else to do? I am Swiss and I know how things are in those high flyer venues. Those sales people in these boutiques are trained to deal discreetly with VIPs, speak countless languages and are highly professional.

The boutique owner of said handbag "outlet" was likewise invited to Tina Turners wedding and yes, it is a fact, that Oprah is not known all over Switzerland since the American talk show culture just does not fly in the Helvetic Confoederation.

Regretfully most of you cannot read German as the Swiss papers present a completely different picture. If a "white" is arrogant, then the "white" is arrogant - full stop. If a "coloured" is arrogant then everybody else is a racist.

Get over it; if Tom, Dick or Harry would have been treated like that they would just vote with their feet. Pathetic!

"Coloured"?

no Schwartz

No, I meant "coloured". Next to Caucasians (i.e. white) we have this American invention of XXXX-American races.

For me ANY race, religion, skin or political colour is acceptable provided it is lived with dignity, self-confidence and manners without trying to convince me (or any other person for that matter) of the superiority or a particular group.

As said, lets move on; this individual person got pissed over something which had nothing to do with the Tom Ford boutique in Zurich; if some Swiss media is correct it served possibly as a promotional kick-off for Oprah's upcoming subject on racism. As I do not watch the stuff I could not care less - the weather outside is more important 8-)

[Jingthing]

Oprah's new movie looks great:

Well worth watching if you missed it: The Color Purple

[canman]

How did this article get published? There is almost no upside and a long view down.

If you have to say "i'm not a racist because some of my best friends are ....."

you are probably a racist. at least a mild one at best.

PS, I'm no Oprah fan, but she has almost no reason to exaggerate this claim.

This story adds nothing to her hundreds of million or billion or what ever she is worth.

while the clerk or shop owner. has everything to lose for her comments.

Oprah was pissed off because she wasn't recognised and it's not the 1980s so she can't just scream "Do you know who I am?".

Switzerland is snooty, elitist and insular as every visitor who isn't ultra-rich has experienced. She was annoyed at being treated like a regular person.

That might be part of it but that kind of proves her point, "regular" black ladies get a racist snub in that shop.

No. *Everyone* who doesn't look rich and conservative gets a snub in shops like that. Did the shop assistant use racist language? Did she imply that she thought black people were inferior? No. So what evidence is there that this was the case?

Oprah was doing her usual trick of seeking publicity by any means possible, even if it means ruining the lives of one of the lower orders.

Exactly, and she was just looking for any opportunity to engage in race baiting as she did in the Trevon Martin case when she paralleled it to the murder of Emmett Till.

[Jingthing]

Well, she was snubbed for SOME reason. I think if you think her race had nothing to do with it, would you like to purchase a certain Brooklyn Bridge from me? Cheap.

[canman]

If Oprah was caught eating a 20pc bucket of KFC , would that be racist ?

It would be a snack

I detect a certain tone of hostility towards a massively successful strong BLACK woman ...

I admit the above was a cheap shot, but hey it was just hanging there. My hostility is against the race baiters who exagerate every little perceived slight. Oprah blew this up out of all proportion simply to generate puplicity for her new movie, that is a cheap shot as well.

I did have great respect for Oprah, I admired the empire she grew against what must have been incredible odds. She was so powerful that if she read your book you would sell millions. I used to call her the head of the Oprah religion, she transcended the tak show host persona and became the leader of her own little religion.