Oprah Winfrey 'sorry' for naming Switzerland in race row

US talk show host Oprah Winfrey has said she is sorry for a "blown up" media response after she claimed she encountered racism in an upmarket handbag store in Zurich.

Speaking on the red carpet premiere for her new film, Lee Daniels' The Butler, Winfrey said: "I think that incident in Switzerland was just an incident in Switzerland."

"I'm really sorry that it got blown up. I purposely did not mention the name of the store. I'm sorry that I said it was Switzerland," she added.

Her claims were made amid a political row in Switzerland over asylum seekers' rights.