GENEVA — Switzerland is a glamorous playground of the rich and famous, filled with glitterati from princes to movie stars. It’s also a land with a sometimes uneasy relationship with foreigners — especially when they aren’t white.
Billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey says she ran into Swiss racism when a clerk at Trois Pommes, a pricey Zurich boutique, refused to show her a $38,000 handbag, telling one of the world’s richest women that she wouldn’t be able to afford it.
“She said: ‘No, no, no, you don’t want to see that one. You want to see this one. Because that one will cost too much; you will not be able to afford that,’ ” said Winfrey, appearing on the U.S. television program “Entertainment Tonight.” “And I said, ‘Well, I did really want to see that one.’ And she refused to get it.”
Winfrey was in Switzerland to attend the wedding of her longtime friend Tina Turner, who has lived in Zurich for many years.
Swiss tourism officials and the boutique owner were quick to offer apologies Friday.
“We are very sorry for what happened to her, of course, because we think all of our guests and clients should be treated respectfully, in a professional way,” said Daniela Baer, a spokeswoman for the Swiss tourism office.
Boutique owner Trudie Goetz told Swiss public broadcaster SRF that she thought the incident was a misunderstanding.
