Chit Chat
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09 Aug 13
11:56
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Date Joined:
05 Apr 06
I am appalled...my feelings go out to her and her family and all those affected by this enormous injustice
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23626340
US talk show host Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland.
She said an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop in Zurich.
Winfrey, one of the world's richest women, was apparently told the bags on display were "too expensive" for her.
Her claims, made to a US television programme, come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from some public places.
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Berne says human rights groups have likened the plans - which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries - to apartheid.
Proof
The star made an estimated $77m last year
Winfrey, who stars in Lee Daniels' new film The Butler, visited Zurich last month to attend singer Tina Turner's wedding. The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.
Winfrey said she left the shop calmly without arguing, but that the experience was proof that racism continues to be a problem.
"There's two different ways to handle it," she said.
"I could've had the whole blow-up thing... but it still exists, of course it does."
Shop owner Trudy Gotz told the BBC that an assistant had shown Winfrey several other items before the "misunderstanding" over a $35,000 (£22,500) bag, which was kept behind a screen.
Winfrey's claims are a public relations disaster for Switzerland, our correspondent says.
About 48,000 people are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average.
Officials say the curbs, which will also see asylum-seekers housed in special centres, are aimed at preventing tensions with residents.
The country's asylum laws were tightened in June.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23626340
US talk show host Oprah Winfrey says she was the victim of racism during a recent visit to Switzerland.
She said an assistant refused to serve her in an upmarket handbag shop in Zurich.
Winfrey, one of the world's richest women, was apparently told the bags on display were "too expensive" for her.
Her claims, made to a US television programme, come amid a political row over plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum-seekers from some public places.
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Berne says human rights groups have likened the plans - which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries - to apartheid.
Proof
The star made an estimated $77m last year
Winfrey, who stars in Lee Daniels' new film The Butler, visited Zurich last month to attend singer Tina Turner's wedding. The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.
Winfrey said she left the shop calmly without arguing, but that the experience was proof that racism continues to be a problem.
"There's two different ways to handle it," she said.
"I could've had the whole blow-up thing... but it still exists, of course it does."
Shop owner Trudy Gotz told the BBC that an assistant had shown Winfrey several other items before the "misunderstanding" over a $35,000 (£22,500) bag, which was kept behind a screen.
Winfrey's claims are a public relations disaster for Switzerland, our correspondent says.
About 48,000 people are currently seeking asylum in Switzerland. It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average.
Officials say the curbs, which will also see asylum-seekers housed in special centres, are aimed at preventing tensions with residents.
The country's asylum laws were tightened in June.
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marketing strategy
 'so how much is it?' '2 million' results in either 'yes it is you were correct' or stubbornly 'I'll have it'  |
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maybe the shop assistant was just very shrewd and knew exactly who she was
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It has twice as many asylum seekers as the European average yep, sure
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^^^Probably per capita.
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1. How in the hell does a poxy handbag be worth that kinda money?
2. Why would anyone feel the need to pay such obscene amounts for something to carry round a credit card and some lipstick in? |
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its a cae of the 'emperor's handbag'
its the same reason why all advertising make men look stupid while the woman sorts everything out, they are the ones that spend the money on crap.... |
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My thoughts are with the bag..
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Yeah....and Winfrey only wanted it so she could make her rich friends jealous....pathetic...give the money to charity you avaricious ***** !
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A white friend of mine went to a Ferrari garage. The white salesman says to him : we can but dream sir. So why is this racist??? By the way, my mate ordered one 30 minutes later!
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A white friend of mine went to a Ferrari garage. The white salesman says to him : we can but dream sir. So why is this racist??? By the way, my mate ordered one 30 minutes later!
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exactly blades, its as if they want to make an issue of it. why didnt she simply ask for the manager of the shop.
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I think the press has made an issue of it.
But hey, let's do the chit chat thing of political correctness gone mad/it's just sticks and stones thing. As for Leopard, who knows what she does for charity, when you got F*** You money you can buy what you like. |
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load of old flannel. all shop assistants in expensive shops are hoity toity stuck up twonks. nothing to with racism. and yes, it happens all the time in normal shops too. im always getting told things are expensive that really arent. some people just think nobody has any money.
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Not a lot of people know this one;
http://www.thinkinghomebusiness.com/2012/03/09/the-rolls-royce-sale-that-got-away-and-why-we-need-to-check-our-assumptions/ |
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I wonder if Oprah was in her usual J. C. Penney jogsuit and $6 dollar earrings when she went shopping in Zurich?
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in Portugal I went to a posh restaurant,asked for spaghetti ,and got thrown out
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She is absolute vermin and the absolute braindead morons who cheer her on in her audience are the dregs of humanity.
Not ONCE did this shop assistant racially abuse her. 1. How in the hell does a poxy handbag be worth that kinda money? 2. Why would anyone feel the need to pay such obscene amounts for something to carry round a credit card and some lipstick in? 100% spot on, none of the morons in the media dare question their darling mind The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Berne says human rights groups have likened the plans - which include banning asylum-seekers from swimming pools, playing fields and libraries - to apartheid. Its comical the attitude of the liberals. You cant bring a vegetable into Britain because its a danger to the native fauna/nature but humans with any disease known to man can just wander in....... Switzerland are spot on. 90% of these "Asylum seekers" are chancers who cant even speak the native language. Most of the countries they come from are incredibly wealthy but are poor due to corruption. Send them back there and tell them sort out their own mess. |
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The Oprah Winfrey Show is not shown in Switzerland.
And there lies the crux of the matter |
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lucky Switzerland!
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roots was thou
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Oprah not wanting to make a fuss though, says she will be happy just to have this lowly and impertinent 99 percent shop servant flogged and publicly humiliated.
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and the bag thrown in for nothing.
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Chaps, we are forgetting about the poor old croc who was slaughtered to make the bag in the beginning.
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Seen this on the news last night, have to say that was the most unconvincing grovelling reply from the owner of the shop. Billionaire Oprah Winfrey could have bought the whole shop and her house and still have millions left in the bank.
Not sure how racist it was though, the snob salesperson would probably have said the same to anybody who she thought didn't look like they could afford it. |
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Winfrey is sulking because nobody recognised her. Its a non story.
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I can remember being in Honolulu and tried to get into a shop to buy a couple of things and they told me I needed to make an appointment first! Cockneyist if you ask me.
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surely Oprah Winfrey is the expensive bag
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oprah could by Switzerland chekky feckers
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Shop assistant obviously thought she was a wrong un....although a cursory glance at the Opmeisters well padded form should have allayed any fears of her legging it with said luxury item!
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Great stuff Burton-Brewers, that would make a good comedy scetch.
Political correctness has gone mad, if Winfrey stubbed her toe she would probably acuse the kerb of racism. |
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They must have though she wasn't a well to do person by the way she conducted herself.
You can take the person out of the gutter, but you can't take the gutter out of the person. |
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she would have been surrounded by her hangers on i would have thought
 seems abit odd. Not like Rooney and Stubbs in track suits |
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burt
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Does Oprah Winfrey have horses in training with Sir Michael Stoute? I seem to remember her horses pounding the Doncaster straight.
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The shop assistant is probably usually quite snobby to anyone who she thinks isn't good enough for the goods they sell. Being a black American was probably the reason why she was so snobby. There is a bit of a culture in Switzerland of being up themselves because everypone is loaded.
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At first I thought it might have been Oprah Inc trying a shakedown scam on a handbag store, beginning to think she might be trying to shakedown Switzerland
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Why on earth should being a black person have anything to do with it?
I'm sure plenty of white people who don't look the part get treated the same. It's was a case of snobbery not racism. |
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Political correctness has gone mad, if Winfrey stubbed her toe she would probably accuse the kerb of racism.
Yes, this proves that she's just another one walking around with a chip on her shoulder. |