According to the New York Post, a luxury retail store in Zurich, Switzerland, refused to sell Oprah a $38,000 crocodile bag because it was "too expensive." Oprah, who was in town for Tina Turner's wedding, earned about $77 million dollars in the last year and is worth over $2 billion. While it's possible the sales woman just didn't recognize the most powerful celebrity ever, Oprah subtly pointed to it as a moment of racism. Has Europe not learned anything from the 2005 Hermès incident?
Hermès was forced to issue a public apology after store employees refused Oprah entry after-hours (either because they were racist or because they were ... actually closed, we'll never know). When Oprah gets the shopping bug, every store must remain open, all merchandise must be made available! While the store in this new incident maintains innocence and has yet to issue an apology, all of Switzerland is already apologizing for the transgression — an apology of befitting magnitude for Oprah. "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.
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