Oprah Winfrey says an alleged racist incident she suffered while shopping at an upscale boutique in Switzerland does not warrant an apology from the country, itself.
After claiming that she was the subject of racism when a shop assistant refused to show her an expensive handbag, Winfrey told reporters Monday in Los Angeles that it wasn't "an indictment against the country."
"I'm really sorry that it got blown up. I purposefully did not mention the name of the store," she said at the red carpet premiere of "The Butler," according to the AFP.
"I'm sorry that I said it was Switzerland."
"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!"
In an interview on "Entertainment Tonight," the media mogul talked about being mistreated due to the color of her skin after she walked into a ritzy boutique in Zurich. After Winfrey asked to look at a posh Tom Ford "Jennifer" purse, the Trois Pommes clerk repeatedly refused to meet her request, and instead told the talk show queen that it was out of her price range.
"[The clerk] said: 'No, no, no, you don't want to see that one. You want to see this one. Because that one will cost too much; you will not be able to afford that,'" Winfrey explained. "And I said, 'Well, I did really want to see that one.' And she refused to get it," said Winfrey, who earned $77 million last year alone and has a $2.9 billion net worth.
As a result, Swiss tourism officials and the boutique owner offered their apologies Friday, reports the Sun Times.
"We are very sorry for what happened to her, of course, because we think all of our guests and clients should be treated respectfully, in a professional way," Daniela Baer, a spokeswoman for the Swiss tourism office.
The tourism office also posted an apology on Twitter, saying, "This person acted terribly wrong."