Just cause your a bazillionare, you to can play the race card

Oprah got discriminated against
or so she says

(CNN) -- Luxury store Hermes on Wednesday apologized to Oprah Winfrey for turning her away last week, saying that its Paris store was closed to set up for a public relations event when the talk show host stopped by.

"Hermes regrets not having been able to accommodate Ms. Winfrey and her team and to provide her with the service and care that Hermes strives to provide to each and every one of its customers worldwide," the store said in a statement.

"Hermes apologizes for any offense taken due to such circumstances."

Ok.. one of the richest folks out there comes to your store, and your closed for something that is ooooh a PR event telling them to go away is probably a bad idea. When that some one is Oprah with a media empire... thats a worse idea.

but what was just french stupidty gets kicked up a notch by oprah stupidly playing the race card

Harpo Productions spokeswoman Michelle McIntyre said Winfrey "will discuss her 'crash moment' when her show returns from hiatus in September."

"Crash" is a film dealing with race relations. The phrase "crash moment" refers to situations where a party feels discriminated against on the basis of skin color.

The New York Daily News cited sources close to Winfrey as saying the talk show host was first rebuffed by a clerk and then a store manager. The Daily News reported Winfrey had gone to the store to buy a watch for singer Tina Turner, her dining partner that night.

McIntyre confirmed that account for CNN

Ok this is Oprah and Oprah is RICH. Now the fact any uber rich client would get rebuffed like this sounds flakey. Now maybe Oprah misunderstood parisian hospitality (cause them frenchies are politie) and thus had a flash back to her poor ghetto/southern black roots.

But for the store to pop a race card issue on Oprah is as ludicrous as keeping ted kennedy from flying a plane.... so long as he isn't the pilot its ok cause he is a US Senator, not a likely terrorist

The New York Post, in its Monday Page Six gossip column, reported she was turned away because the store had been "having a problem with North Africans lately."

In comments to CNN, an Hermes spokeswoman categorically denied that allegation.

"There was never any discussion of North Africans," she said. "The story is not true."

The spokeswoman said Winfrey came to the store 15 minutes after closing and a security guard informed her the store was closed and gave her a card, telling her she could come back the next day.

Surveillance videotape of the encounter supports the store's account, according to the spokeswoman.

She said the CEO of Hermes has called Winfrey's people to explain "the situation" and invited her to come back to shop in the store.

Now first off all... If Oprah looks like a North African, i sure as heck would like to see a picture of some that look like Oprah.

Secondly she's Oprah... I am pretty sure her stuff is in France by now.

third: she's been on the forbes list... while not the richest on there a store that serves rich folks should know who she is.

Now... the CEO probably should have tossed her tons of free stuff because rich mega-celebs get that kind of treatment.

but my gut instinct says "Oprah is playing the race card on this issue to get a topical show."

I may be wrong but my gut is pretty big and it tends to know things