Thanks!
I think she handled it perfectly.
And I’m pretty sure the clerk has by now both suffered some rather severe punishment, even if only shaming, offered some form of heart felt gushing apology, and learned a life lesson they are unlikely to ever forget. I gotta believe that the shop has likely suffered accordingly. Without Ms Winfrey having to do a dang thing. Y’know beyond being kinda classy and dignified.
Seems perfectly nuanced to me.
The article mentions 48,000 asylum-seekers in Switzerland, so perhaps the shop clerk thought that’s what she was?
If I had Oprah’s money, I’d spend tens of millions of it getting proper photo ids for black people in those states that are going ape-shit over voter id laws.
What does a $35,000 bag look like?
Like a $15,000 bag but not so trashy.
From the link:
I get that it’s an upscale store, but even still, how many of its customers can actually afford a 35k purse? I’m guessing about .01%
So it would be (almost) safe to assume no one could afford that purse. I’m not seeing the racism here. As with most A-list celebs do, I think oprah got a little miffed because somebody didn’t already know who she was.
Wait, what? This is an upscale store that sells obscenely expensive items. And it would be safe to assume, in this store that sells things that nobody can afford, that whoever is in the store can’t afford it? So the purses are just there for show, and when people come in and want to actually buy them, SOP should be to say “You can’t afford this”?
Uh, okay, at my Maserati dealership, I pretty much stand on the lot and turn everybody away. Nobody can afford those cars.
It’s labeled as an upmarket shop. That doesn’t mean every item in that place costs thousands of dollars. I’m betting most of the items in there don’t even come close to 35K. The owner couldn’t stay in business if he limited himself to such a tiny demographic.
There’s rich, as in the high six figures a year (which I doubt anybody in this category is going to drop 35K on a purse), and then there’s Oprah rich.
I like your style. 
Crap! Your idea is even better!
Ha! 
Well there was… nm, Alley Dweller said it better
(bolded part explains the next quote and comment)
The problem is if they had returned to the nice lady store the demand for sucking up would have felt wrong.
(who would have imagined a Pretty Woman tangent in a racism thread)
What are Swiss labor laws like? It might not be that easy to just fire someone for being an asshat.
Right, so when someone comes in the store to buy an ungodly expensive item, they should default to assuming the customer can’t afford them. Why even carry them if whenever someone asks to look at one, the cashier should just assume the customer can’t afford it?
At my BMW, Lexus, and Maserati dealership, I don’t even let people look at the Maseratis. I just tell them they can’t afford it. Straight up. Don’t ask me why I even have them on the lot.
Buy out the legislature and change the laws then DAMMIT. This is Oprah money we’re talking about here!
Ludovico technique with 25 seasons’ worth of The Oprah Winfrey Show on continuous loop, perhaps.
The guy is a straight up idiot. I just don’t know “racist idiot” is the right phrase here.
That said though, after doing a little reading, I see Switzerland is basically the Alabama of Europe. Racist political posters
[[Shudders]]
Heck, this has happened to me before in stores. I can recall shopping for a present for my wife in a jewelry store. I had looked at several necklaces that were several hundred dollars. I pointed out one in the case that caught my eye. The saleslady gently let me know it was several thousand bucks. I lost all interest in that item instantly. 
I don’t know all the details of Oprah’s situation. Obviously the saleslady didn’t know she was dealing with someone worth a hundred million or more.
I wouldn’t immediately jump to any conclusions about race. A lot of customers couldn’t afford a 38k purse. Even someone with modest wealth would hesitate at that price tag. It’s a class issue. Only the richest of the rich buy crap like a 38k purse.
There is a difference between letting someone gently knowing the price (and make their own decision) and telling someone that they can’t afford it.
So a salesperson was either racist or an asshole or possibly both. How is that worth going on TV about?
Seems like a much better strategy would have been to kindly tell the person, “You may not think I can afford this purse, but I made $x million last year. I have more than enough money to afford this purse, but because of your treatment, I will never purchase anything in this store. Ever.”