A few months ago, talk show queen Oprah Winfrey was refused entry into luxury French boutique Hermes, an incident Ms Winfrey reportedly described as “one of the most humiliating moments of her life.” *
Winfrey has now publicly addressed the incident for the first time, in the process trying to prove that her problem was not that the store did not open its doors especially for her because she is a famous celebrity and “don’t you know who I am?”
Winfrey emphatically rejected the widely circulated-theory that her beef with the store was rooted in their refusal to re-open it for her. She went on to say that she was smart enough to be able to tell the difference between a store being closed and a store being closed to her.Recounting the incident, she said that the store was in the process of closing, but that there was still a bustle of business inside.According to Oprah, one “rude” employee caused the ruckus by making her and some of her friends wait in the entrance of the store for permission to enter.Oprah took special care to say that her anger at the situation was directed at the female employee and not at the Hermes company.
To wrap up all of the speculation over the incident, the president of the U.S. division of Hermes appeared on the show.He offered a hearty apology for the actions of the impolite employee, saying, “Honestly, she did not know who you were.”In response, Oprah thanked him for his “heartfelt” apology and said she “was not trying to play that celebrity card.”
Yup. Show you are not trying to play the celebrity card by bringing on to your show the president of the company that wronged you, and have him apologize to you in front of millions of viewers.
* This coming from someone who grew up as a poor, overweight, sexually abused, black child
