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No, Oprah wasn’t a victim of racism in Switzerland or France

Will Shetterly
3 min readMar 4, 2021

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People who care about the hardships of the very rich often claim Oprah Winfrey experienced racism in Switzerland and France.

To make the first claim, you have to ignore the statement of the working-class woman who served her. From Switzerland Apologizes to Oprah for Treating Her Like a Pre-makeover Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman | Vanity Fair:

The owner of the luxury-goods shop, which has since been outed as Trois Pommes, is not in agreement, however. “This is an absolute classic misunderstanding,” Trudie Goetz told Reuters today. To CNN, she clarified, “Mrs. Oprah said she just wanted to look at the bag, she didn’t want it taken down, and because my sales assistant felt a little embarrassed about the price, she quickly said that she also had the model in other materials such as ostrich and suede, which weren’t so expensive. . . This had nothing whatsoever to do with racism.” In case anyone was wondering how the offending saleswoman was doing, Goetz added, “She feels very bad because she feels the way it’s being represented is very unfair.”

Another point from the article:

Even more shocking than the fact that the Pretty Woman Rodeo Drive treatment is apparently still a rampant elitist epidemic in Switzerland, and that $38,000 purses — accessories used to carry loose…

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Will Shetterly
Will Shetterly

Written by Will Shetterly

If you’re losing an argument with me and are too proud to admit defeat, please feel free to insult me instead.

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