Oprah to Switzerland: Hey, Sorry

Regrets her story went viral, but stands by racism claim
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 13, 2013 12:40 PM CDT

After her comments about getting dissed by a racist saleswoman at a chichi Swiss boutique, Oprah Winfrey is, well, trying to be Switzerland—sort of. "I'm really sorry that it got blown up," she said last night. "I purposefully did not mention the name of the store. I'm sorry that I said it was Switzerland." But, while she says "it's not an indictment against the country or even that store," she's not walking back her contention that racism was involved, reports the AP. "It was just one person who didn't want to offer me the opportunity to see the bag."

The aforementioned saleswoman denies that racism was even in the same room, reports the Daily Mail. "It is absolutely not true that I declined to show her the bag on racist grounds. I even asked her if she wanted to look at the bag." Further, she says that the brouhaha, which she likens to a "cyclone," has made her feel "powerless." Over at the Wall Street Journal, James Taranto dismisses the whole thing, saying, "What Winfrey construes as a racial episode is actually a story about class—a wealthy, privileged celebrity aggrieved by a lowly saleswoman's lack of deference." (More Oprah Winfrey stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X