Media mogul Oprah Winfrey got an apology days ago from tourism officials in Switzerland following the talk show host's alleged racist encounter in one shop in Zurich.
Rumored to have been "denied" a handbag from the shop, the occasional actress sounded out on her thoughts about the incident.
Winfrey, who spoke to the media Monday during the L.A. premiere of "The Butler", apologized for naming the country when she told reporters about the incident in Zurich.
The 59-year-old said, "I think that incident in Switzerland was just an incident in Switzerland. I'm really sorry that it got blown up. I purposefully did not mention the name of the store. I'm sorry that I said it was Switzerland."
Winfrey told reporters last week that while she was on a shopping spree in one Zurich store, one of the associates did not want to show her a particular handbag because it was "too expensive". She stressed however that the incident is an isolated one. "It's not an indictment against the country, or even that store. It's just one person who didn't want to offer me the opportunity to see the bag," Winfrey explained.
Winfrey also added, "I was just referencing it as an example of being in a place where people don't expect that you would be able to be there.Nobody's gonna call me the N-word to my face unless they're a thug on Twitter or Facebook. It doesn't show up that way. It shows up for me differently: I'm in a store...and they make an assessment based upon the way I look and who I am."
It seems the Swiss are embarrassed about the incident though and sent an apology to the media mogul: "Switzerland Tourism is deeply sorry to learn about the experience Ms. Winfrey recently had in Switzerland, and we apologize that her feelings were hurt. We would like to assure Ms. Winfrey-like any visitor to Switzerland-that she is welcome with open arms."
Winfrey later took to Twitter and said: "Turns out the store clerk did me a favor. Just found out that bag was #38K!!! She was right I was NOT going to buy it."
