Last June, the tabloids were buzzing about Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey - who earned 225 Million dollars last year, was recently named the most powerful celebrity in the US by Forbes magazine, and who is considered a cultural icon by millions - had instigated a boycott of Hermès International after having been turned away from their Paris store.

The exact details are sketchy and the two sides told different stories. According to Oprah - who didn't have her hair done - she was refused entry because, as she was told, the store had been "having a problem with North Africans lately" (Also see Top Five Ways to Offend Someone of Another Race). According to Hermès, the security guard turned her away because the store was in the process of being closed to prepare for a special event.

Oprah, referring to the popular movie about race relations, called the Hermès incident her "Crash" moment. In response, some immediately accused her of behaving like a diva, a spoiled celebrity.

Oprah attempted to clarify the situation, noting that shoppers were in the store when she and her entourage attempted to gain entry. "My friends and I were standing inside the doorway, and there was much discussion amongst the staff as to whether or not to let me in—that was what was embarrassing...they took my name, they had a discussion about it, then they came back and say, 'no.'"

She was particularly bothered, she said, when Hermès apologized to her in private only to then turn around and release a statement that implied she was "...some diva trying to get in when the store was closed."

"I know the difference between a store being closed and a store being closed to me...Everybody's who has ever been snubbed because you were not chic enough or thin enough or the right class or the right color or whatever -- I don't know what it was -- you know that it is very humiliating," she said.

As a result of her experience, Winfrey used the debut episode of her 20th season to confront the head of Hermès USA. The outcome? He apologized to Oprah in front of millions of TV viewers, saying "I would like to say we're really sorry...You did meet up with one very, very rigid staff person."

A clear win-win situation, Oprah has lifted the boycott, Hermès International has introduced sensitivity training, but most importantly, Oprah has received an apology before millions of witnesses.