At this point, I kind of want Oprah to go to Zurich, buy the Trois Pommes boutique, and burn it to the ground. I think everybody needs to take a breath and remember something: Oprah didn’t name names. When she was asked if she ever experienced racism, she told an offhand story about shopping in Zurich recently, and how an unnamed clerk was rude to her, telling Oprah that she “couldn’t afford” the $38,000 purse Oprah wanted to look at. That would have been the end of it, but the Swiss Tourism board decided to issue a statement apologizing to Oprah, and the people working at Trois Pommes haven’t shut up about the incident. Yesterday, we covered the shop girl’s take on the incident, where she claimed that Oprah is lying. Of course, the shopgirl also explained it this way:

“I explained to her the bags came in different sizes and materials, like I always do. She looked at a frame behind me. Far above there was the 35,000 Swiss franc crocodile leather bag. I simply told her that it was like the one I held in my hand, only much more expensive, and that I could show her similar bags.”

Which means to me that the girl did basically tell Oprah that she wasn’t going to let her see the more expensive bags, but she would show her the cheaper ones. Which means that Oprah was telling the truth. But now the shop owner, a woman named Trudi Goetz, is getting involved and she sounds like a real piece of work too:

The owner of the upscale Swiss boutique where Oprah Winfrey claimed she was barred from buying a $38,000 by a ‘racist’ sales assistant today demanded to speak to the star she branded ‘over-sensitive’ and insisted her employee did ‘everything right’. The rather fearsome-looking Trudi Goetz said she wanted to speak with the talk show billionairess ‘as soon as possible’ and also revealed her petrified member of staff will not be sacked or punished.

She said: ‘I don’t know why she talked of racism. I am sorry, but perhaps she is being a little over-sensitive here. Maybe she was somewhat offended because she was not immediately recognized in the store.’

Frau Goertz said today: ‘For God’s sake, no! I do not judge people according to their skin color, nor according to their income. I treat everyone equally. And I also expect my employees to do the same.’

MailOnline has learned that the saleslady in question is Italian, aged 37, and was not a full-time employee of the ritzy Trois Pommes shop in Zurich where the incident took place – but she was sent there from the sister-store in upscale St. Moritz to help out. Now it is unclear where she is as she lies low in fear of ‘public hatred’.

Goetz, who was ironically also a guest at the wedding of Tina Turner – the reason why Oprah was in the country, has been left to speak for her.

‘It’s absurd,’ she said. ‘Oprah came into the business, wanted to see the crocodile bag. She inquired about the price. When my saleswoman told her that it cost 35,000 francs and then offered to show her cheaper ones, she walked away. And in a possible slap to Oprah’s diva tendencies, she added: ‘That is something that international stars appreciate in our country – that you leave them in peace.’

Ms. Goetz, who regularly features in the society pages of Swiss newspapers and magazines, said that there will be ‘no repercussions’ for her employee – an Italian woman who worked for five years in a boutique in Milan before joining her.

She went on: ‘She did everything right. I can’t blame her. She has been working for five years with me and is an excellent seller. She usually works in St. Moritz where there is a MOST demanding clientele. She is so very sensitive. I repeat once again; my saleslady only meant well because she wanted to show other bags to Oprah. To demonstrate the whole range is, for me, a perfect service. I find it regrettable that Oprah has come to this service from exactly the wrong way. I saw Oprah at Tina’s wedding but I only knew her from TV. We didn`t speak, and now unfortunately since then, this is played out before the entire world. I hope the business will not suffer as a result of this. I hope I can speak with Oprah to resolve the situation personally, as quickly as possible.’

Oprah said at the LA premiere of her film, ‘I’m in a store and the person doesn’t obviously know that I carry the black card and so they make an assessment based upon the way I look and who I am… 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 Louboutin shoes. I didn’t have anything. 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.’

Swiss tourism officials and the boutique owner apologized for the incident last week, but Winfrey insists there’s no need.

‘It’s not an indictment against the country or even that store,’ she continued. ‘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 apologize in front of the whole country? No!’

[From The Mail]

Again, if you muddle through this woman’s hissy fit, you’ll notice that she basically admits that Oprah’s story is correct – “Oprah came into the business, wanted to see the crocodile bag. She inquired about the price. When my saleswoman told her that it cost 35,000 francs and then offered to show her cheaper ones, she walked away.” Oprah asked to see the expensive purse and the shop girl wouldn’t let her see it, offering to show Oprah the cheaper purses. Just like Oprah said. Sounds like Oprah wasn’t being “over-sensitive” as much as she was “correctly reading the attitude of the room and disengaging from the situation.”

Photos courtesy of WENN.