Oprah Winfrey has been busy promoting her much buzzed about film “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” which comes out this month. The film takes place in a time where racism was rampant so during an interview with Entertainment Tonight last Thursday, she was asked if she had ever been called the N-word and she stated that no one in their right mind would ever say that to her. But she did share an ugly experience she had on a recent trip to Zurich to attend singer  Tina Turners wedding.

Oprah was shopping at a store when she saw a bag she liked behind the counter so she asked the clerk if she could see it and according to her, the clerk replied, “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 one.”

Um, who says that to anyone…especially to Oprah?

The bag in question is a Tom Ford purse with a price tag of $38,000. Sure, it’s outrageous for the average person but for a woman who is reportedly worth 2.9 billion dollars, it’s nothing.

For a split second, she wanted to pull a “Pretty Woman” and go on a shopping spree at the store but she didn’t want the employee to reap the benefits of a large commission. Instead, she refused to cause a scene and walked out of the store stating racial prejudice is alive and well in the world still. She had refused to name the store during the interview but  it’s been discovered since that this incident took place at the Trois Pomme store which sells various luxury items.

A spokesperson for the Swiss tourism office apologized for what had happened and the owner of the store, Trudie Goetz apologized but says it was more of a misunderstanding than anything. She says the employee being accused of racial profiling has been working there for five years and is fantastic. Goetz said she blames a language barrier saying “I have to admit that the employee is Italian, of course, she speaks English, but not as well as her mother tongue. It was a real misunderstanding.”

The employee meanwhile is fuming stating that the accusations are not true and defamatory. She says, “I don’t know why she is making these accusations. She is so powerful and I am just a shop girl. I don’t know why someone as great as her must cannibalize me on TV.”

So, who do you believe?