Oprah Winfrey 'was victim of racism' in Switzerland

[RudynJack]

188. Oprah doesn't deal with "routine racism"

My point was a semi-humorous observation that she encounters shit like this when she's visiting Tina Turner in Europe.

That racism exists is not in question. But let's remember that Tina Turner, Ella Fitzgerald,Nina Simone, and countless other artists have moved abroad because their destinations were LESS racist than the US. That a shop clerk didn't recognize her is not necessarily a salient indication of endemic racism.

The Paris incident is even less important. She wanted a clerk to open the store after they closed. Maybe Oprah isn't a victim of racism as much as she's an entitled rich person who wants special treatment because of her wealth.

That said, I have frequently defended Oprah. I find most of the hatred of her both racist and misogynist. And this case is clearly racist - the Paris situation, not so much.

I know an extremely wealthy woman who experienced the same thing in an art gallery in a very rich town in California. She's white. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and the clerk did the same thing Oprah's clerk did to her. This woman could've bought the entire gallery without a wince.

Clerks can be dicks - it's not always because they're racist.