Oprah Winfrey has told how she was refused service by a 'racist' shop assistant in Switzerland

Oprah Winfrey has revealed how a 'racist' shop assistant refused to let her look as a handbag in an exclusive Swiss boutique because it was too expensive.

The shocked media mogul - said to be worth nearly $3billion - was in Zurich to attend her friend Tina Turner's wedding when the incident unfolded.

The star, who is one of the most recognisable TV personalities in the world, had just headed out for a spot of shopping when the race row erupted.

'I was in Zurich the other day, in a store whose name I will not mention.

'I didn't have my eyelashes on, but I was in full Oprah Winfrey gear.

I had my little Donna Karan skirt and my little sandals.

'But obviously "The Oprah Winfrey Show' is not shown in Zurich", she told Entertainment Tonight host host Nancy O'Dell.

'I go into a store and I say to the woman, "Excuse me, could I see the bag right above your head?" and she says to me, "No. It's too expensive.''

'And I said "No, no, no, the black one, the one that's folded over," and she said, "No, no, no, you don't want to see that one, you want to see this one because that one will cost too much. You won't be able to afford that one".'

The saleswoman went on to suggest she look at cheaper bags.

Winfrey said she decided not to escalate the incident and left the shop calmly. But said that it proves that racism is still an issue.

Girls' weekend: Oprah Winfrey and best friend Gayle King were spotted ahead of Tina Turner and Erwin Bach's wedding celebrations in Zurich, Switzerland

'There's two different ways to handle it,' she said.

'I could've had the whole blow-up thing... but it still exists, of course it does.'

Winfrey was discussing how, despite decades of civil rights advancements, racism was still prevalent in many walks of life.

She added that as a high-profile and wealthy celebrity, she experienced overt forms of racism quite infrequently but sexism was far more common.

'True racisim is being able to have power over somebody else. So that doesn't happen to me that way.

Race row: Oprah Winfrey was a guest at the wedding of Tina Turner and Erwin Bach, pictured, in Zurich, Switzerland

'It shows up for me this way, it shows up that sometimes I'm in a board room or I'm in certain situations where I'm the only woman, or I'm the only African American person within a 100 mile radius, and I can see in the energy of the people there, they don't sense that I should be holding one of those seats.

I can sense that. I can never tell is it racism or is it sexism, because often it's both.

'The sexism thing is huge. The higher the ladder you climb, it gets huge.'