""Maybe she actually just didn't want to reach for the bag because it was up too high," Winfrey said. "Who knows? Either way, I had a great time in Switzerland.""

So Oprah changes her tune mid interview from "she said I couldn't afford it" to "maybe it was just too high for her to reach it." Typical Soap Op(e)rah.

yeah well, you attack on person in the Swiss trailer park, you have to answer to the whole trailer park.

dude.

and the most telling comment:

"Believe me, normally people are excited when I come to their stores," Winfrey said. "It's very unusual when I'm not practically dragged into a boutique. Dozens of people will be pressing their noses against the windows to get a look at me shopping."

narcissistic celeb

She's Oprah dude. That comment is fact, not narcissism.

The fact is, she was angry because some swiss rube didn't treat her like royalty.

Maybe she's mad that she wasn't treated like she usually is, dirge, but she did not accuse Switzerland of racism. She went to great lengths to make that obvious.

She did a lot of backtracking, yes.

Not angry, surprised, and she had every right to be. You're mad because one of the most wealthy, successful woman in the world comments on how her gender and race still play a negative role in her outward perception to people. Why?

for fucks sake

You gonna finish that sentence?

"She did a lot of backtracking, yes"
That wasn't back-tracking, just a way of squeezing a little more out of the story.
She knows what happened, we know what happened, the Swiss have their own brand of white supremacists, many settled there after the 2nd World War.

I read it was a $50K handbag. Was it really racism? One thing is for sure, the shop assistant had no idea it was Oprah, and most probably no idea who Oprah is. Perhaps the shop assistant doesn't show the handbag to anyone unless some kind of prior arrangement has been made. That is they don't automatically show it to passing traffic?

I think it is a natural thing for shop sales assistants to profile her customers, especially in a shop such as this.
In general Swiss people are quite Conservative and this up-market shop caters for the mega-rich, this shop assistant got her profiling all wrong, was it based on colour, it was based on everything, you use all the information the customer presents, feed it into that brain and come up with a view of a person, you will never be 100% right because you're objective profile of that person is based on your personal prejudices, I think bo has taught us all about objectivity when he as a Jew makes comments about Muslims, maybe not quite as objective as non-Jews would be.

You guys really give a shit about Oprah?

She is a very rich, successful and influential woman so deserves some respect, even if she is non-white

Are you implying I give a shit about her colour? The thing is, I don't give a shit about very rich and succesful. I have respect for her, but just as much as I have respect for every other single animal (including humans). I don't see why she would deserve any more than that? Justin Bieber is rich and succesful too. Do you respect him too?

Oh, and FYI, that doesn't mean I don't have respect for plants and viruses and bacteries, I just have less respect for those. I suppose because I don't interact with them a lot (well not consciously, I'm sure viruses and bacteries are interacting with me as we speak :P)

Personally I don't see why anyone willing to spend tens of thousands on a crocodile skin bag deserves any respect whatsoever. Same goes for the shop that sells them.

@Octo - it's called capitalism mate, whether you accept it or mot it's a reality, it produces winners and losers, she is one of the winners .... don't tell me it's all another conspiracy dreamt up by the CIA and FBI and the US Govt and shit :-)

Nah, Nigs, capitalism is the mechanism that allows people to make choices about the direction their life will go. Those with dedication and ability can do very well, and Oprah is one of those people. Sadly, she is also a twat, but that's not the fault of capitalism. That's the fault of Oprah and her mum.

If you're worth US$500m courtesy of over-generous tax breaks in the US for the rich you have to do something with your money, such as spend it in Europe.

"capitalism is the mechanism that allows people to make choices about the direction their life will go" - that is a fanciful notion and is beautiful in its naivety, have you been reading the Daily Torygraph again, it is full of that middle-class twaddle about capitalism giving people more choice ... and heaven is full of chocolate and candy floss

Twaddle is something you're an expert on, Nigs, but I sadly have neither time nor interest in starting yet another debate in the rights and wrongs of capitalism. Suffice to say that money didn't make Oprah an arse. It merely allowed her to better demonstrate her arse like nature to the world.

@ Octo are you telling me if you met her you wouldn't give her a big hug and congratulate her on one of the most successful shows in US television history .... sounds like Mr Grumpy Slippers needs a big hug