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Switzerland: We’re Sorry, Oprah

‘Communication problem’

For being racist.

cheats/2013/08/09/switzerland-we-re-sorry-oprah/oprah-book-club-tease_axw7lv
Charles Sykes / AP Photo

Someone’s getting fired. On Friday, the Swiss tourism office and owner of an upscale boutique apologized for an incident in which a store clerk refused to show Oprah Winfrey a handbag because she would not “be able to afford” it. The billionaire shared the discriminatory interaction in an earlier interview. “We think all of our guests and clients should be treated respectfully, in a professional way,” a spokeswoman for Switzerland’s tourism office said. The shop owner apologized as well, calling it a “communication problem” with the store’s Italian clerk, and saying it “has nothing to do with racism.”

Read it at The Washington Post

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