Oprah Says It's Ok to Buy Hermes
Posted on September 19, 2005
Oprah Winfrey -- thank goodness -- has just made up with Hermes on national television. Today is the premiere of her 20th anniversary season. She revealed her new, state of the art set, chatted with Jennifer Aniston about how she's dong after the divorce (she's fine, doing lots of yoga and is ready to start dating again), and then...the piece de resistance. Oprah set everyone straight about what really happened at Hermes in Paris this past summer.
Oprah did not tie the incident to race. She said she felt snubbed, just like anyone who's ever been snubbed might feel, whether it was because of race, looks, not being chic enough, rich enough or of a high enough social class. She said it was one person who was very rude, not the entire company. She said everything we read about the incident was wrong. The store was not closed, it was closing and there were a few people inside.
But what Oprah said made her feel snubbed was this one person who rudely left her standing in the entryway while she decided to let her and her friend Gayle in or not. She said she wasn't mad about not being able to buy a purse after hours -- that was ridiculous. She said she plays by the rules and believes in playing by the rules, that's she's no diva. She said she bears no ill-will towards Hermes, and she still carries her Hermes Birkin bag. And for those who asked, she said, yes, please wear your Birkin bags.
Then, in a totally surprising move, Robert Chavez, president of Hermes-U.S. came out and apologized several times to Oprah. He looked nervous and truly worried; he was starting to sweat. Apparently, this was the guy that immediately called her after the incident to apologize; it was the French office that issued that strange press release that didn't help matters. They hugged, no doubt Chavez cried tears of joy on the way home. And they all lived happily ever after in Hermes' Land. The End.