We’ve all had the experience of not receiving the best service while shopping, dining, or simply going about our daily lives because we’re Black.
Well, while promoting Lee Daniels’ The Butler on ”ET,” Oprah explained a recent incident in which she, too, was racially profiled while shopping in Zurich. (FYI she was attending Tina Turner‘s wedding in Switzerland!) She said she was denied service when the clerk assumed she wouldn’t be able to afford an expensive bag she had asked to see. Oprah said she left the store, deciding it was better to leave than give the employee a commission.
A similar situation occurred in 2005 when Oprah tried to shop at an Hermes boutique in Paris shortly after it closed. Oprah saw customers milling about inside the store and asked two employees, including a manager, if she could make a quick purchase. Her access was denied, and some argue that Celine Dion or Barbra Streisand or another Caucasian superstar would have been allowed to enter and shop Hermes after hours.
However, Oprah explained to “ET” that for her, sexism is a bigger issue than racism.
“The sexism thing is huge,” said Oprah to “ET.” “The higher the ladder you climb it gets huge, because men are used to running things.”
When asked if she has ever been called the N-word, Oprah revealed her feelings about Paula Deen. She says, ”I think Paula Deen was sort of used as a symbol, but I think lots of people use the word inappropriately all the time.”
Winfrey says that she would like to sit down with Deen, but it may take a while for the interview to happen.
