Savannah James had her Pretty Woman moment. But it’s not as fun as it looks in a movie. The wife of NBA superstar LeBron James and her close friend and co-host of the Everybody’s Crazy podcast, April McDaniel, detailed a pair of jaw-dropping high-fashion retail encounters in Europe. The treatment they received was so bad that it allegedly resulted in an Hermès employee losing her job and a Chanel store being completely shut!
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Speaking on Danielle Robay’s ‘Question Everything’ podcast, the duo shared their experiences navigating poor customer service at top luxury houses in Milan and Paris. During their European travels, McDaniel had scheduled exclusive shopping appointments. However, upon arriving at a Hermès boutique in Milan, Italy, they were met with unexpected hostility and turned away despite their reservations.
“We had an appointment, and they tried to act like it was…” Savannah recalled to Robay, before McDaniel interjected, claiming, “They treated us like s–t. They closed down that whole motherf—–g store.”
The pair didn’t give specifics, but McDaniel, who noted that Savannah is usually “very nice,” had no qualms standing up to the staff. “I said, ‘Baby, you caught the wrong one today… ” It’s your last day here, honey,” McDaniel recounted.
They alleged that the contentious exchange directly led to the saleswoman losing her job! To remedy the situation, management quickly bumped up the pair to an exclusive experience.
“We were in the private room with champagne and macarons,” Savannah shared, adding that staff brought out high-end crocodile pieces and every bag in stock.
McDaniel added, “I said, ‘I’ll take bathing suits, I’m finding silverware.’ I was living my best life.”
The luxury shopping ordeal did not end in Italy. Both revealed that a similar incident unfolded during a visit to a Chanel store in Paris, France, when a male sales associate aggressively reprimanded someone he likely didn’t recognize as LeBron James’ wife for browsing the merchandise.
Savannah said the associate repeatedly instructed her, “Don’t touch. Don’t touch. Put back,” as she reached for a miniature bag on display.
“I said, ‘Oh.’ But it caught me off guard because typically when it’s like an exclusive situation, it’ll say ‘Don’t Touch,'” Savannah explained. “I can read, okay? Very much so. And I can see very clearly, and there was nothing that said ‘Don’t Touch.’ And I’m in a merchandise store, like let me see.”
Refusing to let the disrespect go unchecked, the pair took immediate action to escalate the matter directly to corporate leadership.
“I’m calling the boss,” McDaniel said, referring to how they handle retail hostility. “‘We’re closing this store down. She can go like that.’ I’m proving a point. You’re fired.”
McDaniel promptly called upper management, which prompted the entire Chanel boutique to halt operations on the spot to address the issue. The pair noted that while they avoid using celebrity names to pull rank, preferring to simply be “resourceful,” they refuse to tolerate mistreatment when spending top dollar.
When asked whether such hostile encounters ruin shopping for them, McDaniel confirmed that, for Savannah, they only drive them to demand accountability at the highest level, ensuring store management rectifies the disrespect every single time.
Over the years, Savannah has developed a reputation for being extremely generous. Aside from giving back to her Akron community and serving as a pillar for the LeBron James Family Foundation, which funds millions in college scholarships, Savannah has worked on a fair few passion projects as well.
James’ wife has fulfilled the wishes of hundreds of young girls who’ve dreamt of going to prom night, but their families simply cannot afford it. In those cases, Savannah generously sponsored the entire attire through her prom drive initiative.
“Having grown up in Akron, I know what it’s like to face insecurities,” Savannah said nearly a decade ago. “To second-guess myself. Like every young teenage girl, I’ve had those moments of doubt. That is why I established my annual I PROMise Makeover, which remains one of my favorite days of the year. To see the girls’ faces light up with excitement and confidence is what fuels my passion. That is the reason I’m here. They are my purpose.”
Pivoting back to Savannah and McDaniel’s shopping experiences, unfortunately for Hermès, this isn’t the only story doing the rounds. A 2005 incident involving the same luxury brand and Oprah Winfrey has surfaced. The media mogul had arrived at their Paris store shortly after it had closed. But there were still people in it, so she decided to enter for a quick purchase.
Oprah was immediately told that the store had closed and that they were setting up for a private event. Hermès eventually issued its apology to her, saying it regretted “not having been able to accommodate Ms. Winfrey and her team” and apologized “for any offense taken due to such circumstances.”
According to a series of surveys by Gallup in 2025, 36% of U.S. adults believed Black people were treated less fairly than white people in downtown stores. Among Black adults, 54% said they received less fair treatment in those spaces.