A Swiss boutique clerk is outraged that media mogul Oprah Winfrey embellished their encounter after she lodged racism allegations against the high end Switzerland boutique.
The Trois Pommes sales assistant said she felt “powerless” and “in a cyclone” after Oprah went on American TV to say she was a victim of racism. Oprah said the saleswoman refused to show her a $35,000 handbag because it was too expensive for her.
But the saleswoman emphatically denied the incident went down the way Oprah said it did. Trudy Goetz, the shop owner, called the accusations “absurd.”
“I wasn’t sure what I should present to her when she came in on the afternoon of Saturday, July 20, so I showed her some bags from the Jennifer Aniston collection,” the saleswoman said.
“I explained to her the bags came in different sizes and materials, like I always do,” the unidentified sales clerk said over the weekend.
“She looked at a frame behind me. Far above there was the 35,000 Swiss franc crocodile leather bag. I simply told her that it was like the one I held in my hand, only much more expensive, and that I could show her similar bags.”
“She looked around the store again but didn’t say anything else. Then she went with her companion to the lower floor. My colleague saw them to the door. They were not even in the store for five minutes.”
The saleswoman denied ever saying, “You don’t want to see this bag. It is too expensive. You cannot afford it.”
Oprah is being accused of embellishing the story to promote her latest film ‘Lee Daniels ‘The Butler’. Oprah now says she’s sorry she ever mentioned the incident.
“I’m really sorry that it got blown up,” Oprah said.
“I purposefully did not mention the name of the store. I’m sorry that I said it was Switzerland.
“I was just referencing it as an example of being in a place where people don’t expect that you would be able to be there,” she said.
Oprah and her longtime life partner Gayle King were in Switzerland to attend R&B legend Tina Turner’s wedding.
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