Were I Oprah, and were a salesperson to tell me that a handbag was “too expensive” for me, my next words would be:
"Try me."
DK is a known designer, yes. But it’s sold at Macy’s etc. A nice one is $500, or less. It’s not like Lauren or Gucci or Dolce.
So, that’s just middle class. It doesn’t say “Yes, I can afford a $35K purse” in fact it says the opposite in Europe.
I’m white, but I bet if I went in there wearing a Hendrix wig and shoe polish on my face they wouldn’t hand me the purse either. So it can’t be racism!
Am I hearing this story correctly? Oprah didn’t want to make a big deal about this, then went on TV to make a big deal about this???
Does this store routinely practice racism? That’s not known or important, apparently. Did the clerk object to Americans? That’s not known or important either. Was the clerk used to dealing with customers who wanted to manhandle the most expensive items with no intention of buying them? I’m guessing that a person who would actually buy a $35,000 handbag doesn’t want everyone touching it before they do. I would certainly examine a $35,000 handbag if the store would let me. What is it that could make any handbag be worth $35,000???
The comparison to “Pretty Women” is lame because in “Pretty Woman”, the clerks didn’t want a hooker in their store and made it clear that they didn’t want the hooker to come back. If the stores usual customers thought the store delt with hookers, only Charley Sheen would shop there.
So Oprah didn’t really want a purse that costs more than most cars. Maybe the clerk read her customer well. The store said this was a misunderstanding. Maybe it actually was a misunderstanding. The story says that “the Oprah Winfrey Show” is NOT shown in Switzerland. Of course that doesn’t apply to Oprah. She expects you to recognize her wherever she goes. Even in Switzerland.
One possible option is that Oprah could have had her people call the store and explain the situation. Or maybe Oprah is rich enough that she doesn’t mind getting poor store clerks fired for not recognizing her? Or getting white store clerks fired for not recognizing her? Or getting straight store clerks fired for not recognizing her? Or whatever reason a really rich person needs? I’m Oprah, bitch. People will believe anything I say. You’re a nobody. Just wait until I get in front of the next camera. Do you have an audience that hangs on your every word like I do. I didn’t think so.
Maybe Oprah could explain that she could afford that handbag and 10 more like it. Maybe she could say that she would like to talk to the manager? Maybe it’s common for that stores shoppers, those who would buy a $35,000 handbag, to call ahead and make special arrangements?
That such a thing exists and that people actually spend that sort of money on it stuns me into incoherence. It’s appalling to me.
She went on TV after Switzerland announced draconian laws to restrict movement of refugees to describe what, to her, was a racist interaction.
I just read this: “I say to the woman, ‘Excuse me, may I see that bag right above your head?’ And she says to me, ‘No, it’s too expensive,’ ” Winfrey told “Entertainment Tonight,” using an accent to imitate the sales clerk."
What a racist bitch. Proclaiming her victimhood while mocking someone’s foreign accent. Bitch.
She walks into a boutique by herself on the lookout for manufactured racism and asks to see a $38K handbag and screams racism because I dunno, I guess the $29K handbags are insulting. Only black people buy those!
Then she says she’d never have bought it for the price, thereby proving the shop girl right.
Bitch. Go back to your castle, princess. You are completely out of touch with reality.
If she was looking for “manufactured racism” she would have reported it right away, instead of what she did do: leaving quietly and NOT going to the press, then waiting a month and coming forward only when Switzerland is doing some pretty crappy things regarding immigrants/refugees.
Plus, choosing not to buy something because you deem it’s not worth it is not the same as not being able to afford it.
I love it- in this thread wanting to buy a 35K handbag is used against her as evidence of being a richie rich and not wanting to buy a 35K handbag is used against for proving the clerks attitude.
And mocking someone’s accent?
Sure- that is definitely not taking the high road, but certainly not evidence for seeking out a manufactured racist incident, which is a pretty serious allegation. I can imagine her being occasionally bitchy or demanding but manufacturing incidents and drumming up racism is a whole different story.
What Switzerland is proposing right now is really lousy and if she puts herself out there to bring attention to it, even at the risk of her being criticized, well, kudos for her.
Oh, please. Mocking someone’s accent is way more racist than taking offense because someone told you an item was too expensive and it turns out it was.
Spreading awareness? Did she say that or are you saying that?
Look, Oprah annoys the crap out of me, but she’s rich as fuck and if she wants to pay $35K for a purse, more power to her.
If an expensive-assed purse is there as some kind of marketing strategy… that’s stupid. I mean, if someone asks to see the damned thing THREE TIMES, what kind of stupidity going on makes you say “no” three times?
Further, the clerk could have said (if this is in fact true), “This purse is a display item, it’s not for sale,” if it was there only to get people to buy cheaper shit.
I freely admit that there’s no racism smoking gun here. But there’s a terrible customer service issue at hand. If it’s true that nobody else would have been granted the chance to look at the purse, WHY THE BLUE FUCK IS IT IN THERE (without some sign saying “This is a display item, not for sale”)?
And I’m sorry, if you’re willing to drop $15K on a purse, I don’t think it’s a stretch that you would spend three times more.
I recall reading a couple articles that said that was her motivation, but in all honesty it could have been the author making the link. The web is so flooded with this I am having trouble tracking down the articles I had read to verify. I’ll keep looking though.
The timing, especially waiting a month to say anything, sure doesn’t smack of hysterical incident mongering, and coincides with these new laws in Switzerland. So regardless if my memory is right or wrong, I still disagree with your characterization of her motives. They might not be as noble as I remember, but they’re not as self-serving as you described.
Well, if Oprah sat on this until she noticed alarming nationalism in Europe and she decided she’d use this as an illustrational moment then she gets an A for meaning well and an F for being really lame about it. Oh boo hoo she wouldn’t show me the $40-fucking-k purse. 
I have watched the video in question and would not describe Oprah as mocking the clerk’s accent…and neither did the article you quoted.
Where’s this video?
It’s included the article linked in the OP and I also linked to it on YouTube in post #90.
In Oprah’s place I, too, would have felt a little insulted, but it’s really hard to call it racism. She was in the store, checking out other purses. If that store really didn’t want a black person in it, even a rich black woman, would it have let her in to begin with?
I have no idea what a purse of that cost looks like, but it does stand to reason that if somebody buys it, they don’t want it to have been pawed over by a bunch of people.
Also, salespeople can often tell when someone has no intention whatsoever in buying a particular thing but just wants to see it.
I think the line “obviously they don’t show The Oprah Show here” says it all.
Also, sales people can have their own agendas. It doesn’t sound like this lady was working on commission, for sure, but it also kind of sounds like this purse wasn’t actually for sale.
This sounds like one of those thing where if you’re looking for racism, then that’s what it looks like, and if you’re dead set on its not being racism, there’s evidence for that, too.
If I were that clerk’s boss, I’d have no problem how that was handled. Because I’d definitely not want to keep on any employee passing judgments on my customers erroneously. I can’t imagine how much business that could cost me.
Lol.