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| Oprah Winfrey |
“I know of no black man who was never stopped by police because of his skin color, or persecuted, but it’s different for women,” Winfrey said in the interview, according to a translation.
Winfrey was careful, however, to maintain that due to her stature she is not a regular victim of racism — at least not to her face. “What I’ve experienced in Switzerland happened only once before in my life,” she said. “I didn’t want to indict Switzerland. It was a single incident.”
The star said that the racism she is subjected to often comes through Twitter, but that her experience as a woman of colour differs from others “because I am well-known.”
The effort was too much for her. She said to me, that the bag was simply too expensive. And I said: ‘I want to see it anyway.’ Instead she tossed me cheaper bags
“Except on Twitter, no-one dares confront me with the N-word,” she told Blick. “I feel discrimination in a different way.”
Winfrey reiterated her earlier version of the story to the magazine, describing how she dressed up in a Donna Karan outfit and washed her hair just for the shopping trip, knowing things could get a bit “snobby” in stores like Trois Pommes in Zurich, where the incident is alleged to have taken place. “The woman did not want to get down the bag which I wanted to look at,” Winfrey said. “The effort was too much for her. She said to me, that the bag was simply too expensive. And I said: ‘I want to see it anyway.’ Instead she tossed me cheaper bags.”
The TV host told Bilk that the Trois Pommes staffer, who earlier this week decried Winfrey’s story as false, explained that the bag had been designed by Jennifer Aniston for Tom Ford — which gave Winfrey an idea. “The idea went through my head that I should call Jennifer or Tom — I know them both very well,” she said. “Instead I said to the saleslady: ‘Okay, I understand. The bag is just for Jennifer, and only she is allowed to buy it, right?’ The woman said “no, no” and tried to explain something. But I was no longer listening. I just said: ‘Thank you very much, you’re probably right that I can’t afford it.’ “
Winfrey did repeat sentiments she’d earlier tweeted regarding the bag’s price tag, saying had she known the Tom Ford crocodile leather purse cost a whopping $38,000, she might not have shown interest anyway. “To be honest, if I had known upfront what this damned bag cost, do you know what? The woman was right: I would not have bought the thing — far too expensive! Too expensive! $38,000! I would have fainted when I saw the price tag.”
