The clerk is using too many words to explain. Why would she even offer the bag in her hand when the woman asked to see a specific bag. There MAY have been some miscommunication but I don't doubt for one second that the clerk thought "this poor Black woman can't afford that bag so I'll save her some time."

Anonymous wrote:What I want to know is....who in their right mind would pay $38,000 for such an ugly handbag?

I think that all the time about most luxury items. Why don't we all go into business together to create the ugliest items we can think of and then charge out the wazoo for them?

Anonymous wrote:What I want to know is....who in their right mind would pay $38,000 for such an ugly handbag?

She was just looking. Are you telling me you've never picked up something to just look fully knowing you couldn't afford it? But in Oprah's case, she can as she made $70 million last year.

I don't see why a shop girl would refuse to show a customer a product...don't they get paid on commission?

Um, hello, the shop girl is basically facing the wrath of her employers and her country's tourism board, OF COURSE she has a "different story"!

As someone who has had the EXACT same thing happen to me (in much less from from stores over less expensive items) I have no doubt Oprah is telling the truth. The same thing happened to Condoleeza Rice while she was in the Bush Administration! A store clerk refused to show her the necklace she asked to see because the clerk assured her she "couldn't afford it".

It happens all the time, but only gets publicity when it happens to a celebrity.

What I want to know is....who in their right mind would pay $38,000 for such an ugly handbag?

Anonymous wrote:Wow. That is a $38K handbag? WTF?

lol, I thought the same thing!

Anonymous wrote:Oprah is lying. She told the same story years ago when visiting Paris.

It is not a lie. The owner came on television and apologized for the incident.

This is NOT the first time this has happened. Oprah was denied entry to a shop in Paris, and the owner came on television and apologized.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1939460_1939452_1939398,00.html

Wow. That is a $38K handbag? WTF?

The shop girl.

I am white btw.

Please. Of course Oprah is telling the truth. This is a ridiculous question.

Oprah is lying. She told the same story years ago when visiting Paris.

I'm not a crazy fan of Oprah, but I believe her in this case.

When people say these kinds of situations (or most situations) are merely a "misunderstanding," it's almost always a copout, total BS excuse.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/oprah-account-racism-switzerland-true-shop-clerk-article-1.1424327

But the shop attendant has a much different version of events than the one relayed by Winfrey.

PHOTOS: OPRAH'S BIGGEST MOMENTS

“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 told SonntagsBlick.

“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.

“'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.”