While visiting Switzerland to attend Tina Turner's wedding, Oprah Winfrey experienced a racist encounter at a high-end store when a sales associate told the billion dollar media mogul she couldn't afford a purse, USA TODAY reported.
Winfrey was alone when she left her hotel to go shopping. When she approached a handbag she was interested in purchasing, the associate reportedly replied that, "it's too expensive," adding that she "would not be able to afford" it. After asking several times, Winfrey was denied an up-close look at the bag.
She decided to leave the store without complaining after jokingly mentioning that the associate could make commission off of her purchase in an interview with ET. Meanwhile, Forbes estimated that Winfrey made over $77 million as of June 2013.
USA TODAY said the purse Winfrey was interested in was the Jennifer bag by Tom Ford, named after actress Jennifer Aniston. It's priced at $38,000. See photo here.
Daniela Baer, a spokesperson for the Swiss tourism office, told The Associated Press that they're "very sorry to hear what happened to her."
Although Winfrey declined to mention the name of the store, The Wall Street Journal said the shop's owner is Trudie Goetz, who told the BCC the incident was a "misunderstanding."
"I have to admit that the employee is Italian," Goetz said. "Of course, she speaks English, but not as well as her mother tongue."
Winfrey has reportedly have more than one negative encounter while shopping in Europe. In 2005, she was denied entrance to an Hermes store in Paris after an employee said it was closed for a private event. After claiming the employee was rude to her, an executive issued an apology.
In the rest of her interview with ET's Nancy O'Dell, Winfrey speaks about additional times where she's been the victim of racism and sexism, ranging from shopping malls to board rooms.
