Now how surprising is it that racism is still very much evident in today’s world ? Not so much right? Expecially with the racial profiling many of us have all been a victim to in one way or another in our lives. whether its walking in a store and being followed by a worker who is of another culture or maybe even the same culture , who because of how you look, dress or even the color of your skin assumes you may still something or rob them so they keep close watch on you. I never understood why these store owners put stores in environments they are truly uncomfortable in, then look at you suspect for shopping there.! But anyway So recently Oprah visited Switzerland for the wedding of her good friend Legendary Rock and Roll superstar Tina Turner , and while she was in a Zurich boutique she and her best friend Gayle noticed a handbag and Oprah asked if the lady would get it for her to look at, and the Sales woman replied” NO” Its too Expensive. and went on to show her less expensive handbags” Now keep in Mind Oprah’s show doesn’t view in Switzerland, so its pretty understandable that she had never seen her before…However keep in mind that Oprah earned in one year alone ending in June 77 million dollars according to Forbes, and is worth 2.8 Billion dollars! So im pretty sure a $38,000 bag is like a clearance deal to her! Oprah said to entertainment tonight She told Entertainment Tonight: “I was in Zurich the other day at 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 sandals, but obviously The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Zurich.””I go into a store and say to the woman, ‘Excuse me, may I see that bag over your head?’ and she says to me ‘No, it’s too expensive.'”Winfrey says she asked again to see the bag — a $38,000 crocodile skin number by Tom Ford — and the woman again refused, saying, “No no no, you don’t want to see that one, you want to see this one, because that one will cost too much and you will not be able to afford that.”
Winfrey says she asked a final time to see the bag: “One more time I tried — I said, ‘But I really do just want to see that one,’ and she said, ‘I don’t want to to hurt your feelings,’ and I said, ‘Ok thank you so much, you’re probably right, I can’t afford it and walked out of the store. Now why did she do that?”
While Winfrey did not specifically identify the shopping trip as a racist experience she told the story during a larger interview on racism and how racism she has suffered..
The talk show host is the first and only female African-American billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion. She said: “I could’ve had the big blow up thing and thrown down the black card and all that, but why do that?”..The store manager who’s name was later revealed said “Mrs. Oprah said she just wanted to look at the bag, she didn’t want it taken down, and because my sales assistant felt a little embarrassed about the price, she quickly said that she also had the model in other materials such as ostrich and suede, which weren’t so expensive,” explained Trudie Goetz, the manager of Trois Pommes. Calling it a “normal selling discussion,” Goetz said: “Mrs. Oprah got the impression she didn’t want to sell the bag to her because she wanted to show her other bags. This had nothing whatsoever to do with racism.”
“Who wouldn’t want to sell a bag like that? Everyone would. My saleswoman just wanted to do her best. She feels very bad because she feels the way it’s being represented is very unfair.”
Goetz added that Tina Turner was her “best friend” and that she, like Oprah, attended the singer’s wedding.
Of course it wasn’t racism Mrs store owner…Im sure you would have treated the Royal Family the same way.
#B.Michavery/B.Brave…click photo to hear Oprahs views on the incident!
More info on Cnn.com
I AM BMichavery (Pronounced -Me.Shay.Veree) 