Is Oprah's Confrontation With A Shop Clerk A Sign Of The Times?

Oprah Winfrey is a billionaire and a well-known and respected media magnate, but even she is occasionally faced with prejudice and discrimination. The much publicized incident Winfrey recently went through at a high-end Zurich store was just one example. The rundown is simple – shopping for a birthday gift for gal pal Tina Turner, Oprah walked into Trois Pommes, a luxury retailer carrying brands like Celine, Jil Sander, Lanvin – the usual suspects. Even in full Oprah garb, however, she received an unexpectedly chilly welcome.

Oprah recalled the incident in The International Business Times: “I was in Zurich the other day, in 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 my little sandals. But obviously, the Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Zurich. I go into a store and I say to the woman, 'Excuse me, may I see the bag right above your head?' and she says to me, 'No. It's too expensive.”

The brand, as represented by president Trudie Goetz, has already come out with a statement, apologizing that the saleswoman did not recognize Oprah and was just trying to be “too kind.” Regardless of the questionable “kindness” in refusing a customer’s request, the statement seems to miss the point entirely, which isn’t simply that Winfrey herself received sub-par service. Instead, the brand has been criticised for being racist, elitist and so on, because it appears that any woman of color or of a certain class could be treated as bad, if she does not have the halo of wealth and power that the shop assistant apparently failed to recognise.