Boutique chain Hermes has apologized to Oprah Winfrey for refusing her entry to a Paris store, saying the shop was closed for a public relations event.
Hermes said in a statement that the talk show host and her entourage had been turned away when they tried to enter a Hermes boutique June 14, the Chicago Tribune reported Saturday.
"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," the statement said. "Hermes expresses its sincere regrets for any misunderstanding that these circumstances could have caused."
However, friends of the talk show queen said it appeared the store was open for business at the time.
"People were in the store and they were shopping. Oprah was at the door and she was not allowed into the store," Gayle King, a friend of Winfrey's who witnessed the incident, told "Entertainment Tonight." "Oprah describes it herself as 'one of the most humiliating moments of her life."'
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
