Oprah Winfrey is not only a famous and powerful billionaire; she’s also the first black woman billionaire in the world. So it’s just unthinkable that someone would look down on her and question her buying power. But that’s apparently what happened to the American media mogul when she was in Zurich, Switzerland. A luxury handbag salesclerk allegedly told Oprah that a $42,000 bag was “too expensive” for her.

Talking to Entertainment Tonight, Oprah opened up about her experience in a Swiss store, in which she claimed she was subjected to racism.

She was in Zurich July to attend singer Tina Turner’s wedding in the country when she entered a luxury boutique and asked to see a bag at the display. But the clerk told her that she might not be able to afford the bag, which cost 35,000 Swiss francs [approximately A$42,000].

“She 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,” Oprah told the U.S. entertainment program.

“And I said, ‘Well, I did really want to see that one.’ And she refused to get it.”

Even after Oprah repeated her request, the clerk still didn’t get the bag that she wanted to see, telling Oprah that she just didn’t want to “hurt your feelings.” But rather than make a scene, the former talk show host just walked away.

“I said, ‘Okay, thank you so much. You’re probably right, I can’t afford it.’”

Oprah continued, “I could have had the whole blow-up thing and thrown down the black card but why do that? But clearly you know that (racism) still exists. Of course it does.”

She refused to mention the name of the boutique, but the Internet later found out that she was referring to Trois Pomme.

FYI: Oprah earned $77 million from June 2012 to June 2013 alone, according to Forbes. She could have bought the whole store if she wanted to.

Oprah believed that she was treated that way because she is black, but the store’s owner, Trudie Goetz, claimed that the incident was just a misunderstanding.

Goetz explained that the clerk was mainly an Italian speaker who didn’t know who Oprah is.

“My salesgirl, she really promised me she took care of Oprah as best as she could. And this salesgirl normally spoils the customer from bottom to the top. So it must have been a misunderstanding,” Goetz told BBC.

“She tried to show Ms Oprah the same style in other qualities because maybe she didn’t understand what she wanted,” the owner said.

Swiss tourism officials, meanwhile, were quick to apologise to the famous TV personality on Friday.

“Switzerland Tourism is deeply sorry to learn about the experience Ms Winfrey recently had in Switzerland, and we apologise that her feelings were hurt. We would like to assure Ms Winfrey – like any visitor to Switzerland – that she is welcome with open arms,” the Swiss Tourism Office released a statement obtained by E! News.

It apologised to Oprah on Twitter as well, writing, “We are fuming – this person acted terribly wrong. We are sorry this happened to @oprah!”

Oprah, 59, is currently starring in Lee Daniels’ historical drama film The Butler, which also stars Forest Whitaker. The film centres on an African American butler in the White House who was an eyewitness to notable events of the 20th century.

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