Boutique owner apologizes to Oprah Winfrey after shop clerk refused to let her look at a handbag because it was 'too expensive for her' but denies it was racism.

Store owner Trudie Gotz

 
A  high end store in Switzerland has apologized to Oprah Winfrey for refusing to let her look at a $38,000 handbag but has denied it was because the shop assistant was being racist.

The handbag in question - a crocodile skin 'Jennifer' bag by American designer Tom Ford which he designed for Jennifer Aniston(see picture below) - was on sale for 35,000 Swiss francs ($38,000) and was locked in a cabinet to prevent shoplifting. 

 

The store owner told the country's Blick newspaper there had been 'a misunderstanding' caused by the assistant’s failure to recognize Oprah but denied the snub was due to racism.
She apologized for her assistant’s behavior, saying there had been 'a misunderstanding between her and Oprah':

'I thought her English was not quite as good as that of Oprah,' she said. 'She only meant well'
'She said it just fine, did everything right. I can not blame the staff. I see no reason to dismiss [her]'.
She has vowed to stand by the assistant and says she sees no reason to sack her following the incident.
However, others disagree, and the row has split a country where racism is already in the headlines.
Markus Hünig, president of the Zurich Bahnhofstrasse Association, the street where the tony boutique is situated said the assistant's conduct was 'completely unacceptable'.
A spokeswoman for the Swiss tourism office said: 'We are very sorry for what happened to her' before adding in a tweet: 'this person [shop assistant] acted terribly wrong'.
The bag has now been sold.