(13 Aug 2013)
AP TELEVISION
Los Angeles, US - 12 August 2013
1. Oprah Winfrey, actress and media mogul, posing for photographers ahead of premiere of new film "The Butler"
2. Mid of photographers
3. Oprah Winfrey speaking to reporters
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Oprah Winfrey, actress and media mogul:
"Oh God, I would like to make some really profound analogy about it. 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. 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. And you know for me racism doesn't show up. Nobody's going to come and call me the N-word to my face unless they're a thug on Twitter, you know, or Facebook, you got those Twitter thugs. And so it doesn't show up that way. I was just saying it shows up for me differently. It shows up - I'm in a store and the person doesn't obviously know that I carry the black (credit) card, and so they make an assessment based upon the way I look and who I am. And I cleaned up. I washed my hair and put on my Donna Karan skirt because I know those people in the stores can be very snooty-pooty, you know? So I thought 'let me dress so I don't get turned away', and it happened anyway. So I guess I didn't dress up enough. And I didn't have anything that said, 'I have money.' I wasn't wearing a diamond stud, I didn't have a pocketbook, I didn't wear (Christian) Louboutin shoes. I didn't have anything. I just had on a Donna Karan skirt and top and some sandals, you know? Which you should be able to go in a store looking like whatever you look like and say, 'I'd like to see this.' That didn't happen. It's not an indictment against the country or even that store. It was just one person who didn't want to offer me the opportunity to see the bag. So no apologies necessary from the country of Switzerland. If somebody makes a mistake in the United States, do we apologise in front of the whole country? No!"
Zurich, Switzerland - 9 August 2013
5. Wide of shop where claimed incident happened
6. Mid of shop window
7. Close of handbag in shop window
8. Wide of shop
STORYLINE:
Oprah Winfrey said on Tuesday that she regrets the media frenzy that arose after claiming she experienced racism during a recent trip to Switzerland.
The billionaire media mogul made the comments at Monday's premiere of "The Butler" in Los Angeles.
In a recent interview with "Entertainment Tonight", Winfrey said that a clerk at Trois Pommes, a pricey Zurich boutique, had refused to show her a handbag.
Winfrey said she was told she "will not be able to afford" the 38-thousand dollar (28.5 thousand euro) price tag.
Swiss tourism officials and the boutique owner apologised for the incident last week, but on Monday Winfrey insisted there was no need.
"I think that incident in Switzerland was just an incident in Switzerland. I'm really sorry that it got blown up," she said. "I purposefully did not mention the name of the store. I'm sorry that I said it was Switzerland."
"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," continued Winfrey. "And, you know, for me racism doesn't show up. Nobody's going to come and call me the N-word to my face unless they're a thug on Twitter, you know, or Facebook."
"I'm in a store and the person doesn't obviously know that I carry the black (credit) card and so they make an assessment based upon the way I look and who I am," she added.

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