Hermes has apologized to Oprah Winfrey for turning her away from one of its Paris boutiques last week, saying it was closed for a public relations event when she came knocking.
[...] King said it’s unlikely that Winfrey will shop there again.
The store closes at 6:30 p.m., although high-end shops are known to make exceptions for celebrities. On that particular night, however, “a private public relations event was being prepared inside,” the statement from Hermes said.
“Hermes regrets not having been able to welcome Madame Oprah Winfrey and the people accompanying her to give them all the attention and service that Hermes is committed to giving each of its clients in the world,” read the statement. “Hermes expresses its sincere regrets for any misunderstanding that these circumstances could have caused.”
A spokeswoman for Harpo Productions told The Associated Press on Thursday that Winfrey plans to discuss her “Crash” moment when “The Oprah Winfrey Show” returns to the air in September. The movie “Crash” deals with race relations.
It’s difficult to make a call on this right now because Oprah’s refusing to tell us her side now, during the period when the media is addressing the story. Thus, I have to label my opinion as entirely preliminary until I get to hear her side of it.
But somehow, right now, I just don’t find it plausible that an urban metropolitan Parisian store would exclude a celebrity due to her ethnicity. I find it far easier to believe that Oprah was just miffed because a company in Paris didn’t know her fame well enough to kowtow at her feet — her ego is not exactly small.
If that is the case and she is played the race card cavalierly and without just cause, that would be quite disgraceful — not only to the company but to all those African-Americans who have had to suffer through true incidents of authentic racial bias.
I’ll look forward to hearing Oprah’s side of this — when she deigns to tell it to us. My curiosity’s admittedly whetted.
