Oprah Winfrey 'was victim of racism' in Switzerland
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
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."
Her 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.
That has to be an exception as most people are open-minded.
The problem is with Switzerland being the best country in the world to be born in (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...tain-27th.html), a lot of foreigners want to live there and they often bring their old-fashioned moral and opinions with them.
That has to be an exception as most people are open-minded.
The problem is with Switzerland being the best country in the world to be born in (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...tain-27th.html), a lot of foreigners want to live there and they often bring their old-fashioned moral and opinions with them.
Girl bye with this superior attitude. This is exactly the **** we're talking about. Racism exists everywhere, even in the "best country" in the world.
Girl bye with this superior attitude. This is exactly the **** we're talking about. Racism exists everywhere, even in the "best country" in the world.
Stating a fact is a superior attitude? If you think so.
I know that racism is everywhere. However, reading this article, one could think it's something widespread in Switzerland and that's simply not the case.
Stating a fact is a superior attitude? If you think so.
I know that racism is everywhere. However, reading this article, one could think it's something widespread in Switzerland and that's simply not the case.
Stating that it's the "best country to be born in" has nothing to do with this thread, all the racists didnt just flock over. you sounded like an arrogant douche.
I mean she must have a lot of self restraint and be able to bite her tongue doing what she did for so many years, I would have bought the store just to fire her.
I mean she must have a lot of self restraint and be able to bite her tongue doing what she did for so many years, I would have bought the store just to fire her.
She could buy them if she wished.
This is exactly the **** we're talking about. Racism exists everywhere, even in the "best country" in the world.
