Swiss apologise to Oprah Winfrey for ‘racism’ incident

‘Excuse me, could I see the bag above your head?’ She says to me: ‘No. It’s too expensive’

Oprah Winfrey said she was the victim of racism during a recent shopping trip in Switzerland. Photograph: Reuters
Oprah Winfrey said she was the victim of racism during a recent shopping trip in Switzerland. Photograph: Reuters

US talk show host Oprah Winfrey has said she was the victim of racism during a recent shopping trip in Switzerland.

The media mogul, who is one of the world’s richest women, told a US television show that a shop assistant in Zurich refused to show her a handbag because it was “too expensive” for her.

"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," she told the Entertainment Tonight programme.

“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’.”

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Winfrey interpreted this refusal as being based on race rather than the bag being overpriced.

A spokeswoman for the Swiss tourism office said: “We are very sorry for what happened to her.” The tourism office also posted an apology on Twitter, saying “this person [shop assistant] acted terribly wrong”.

Winfrey was in Zurich to attend last month’s wedding of long-time friend singer Tina Turner, who lives in Switzerland.

Forbes magazine estimates that Winfrey earned $77 million (€57m) in the year ending in June.

PA