Oprah Winfrey is putting to rest those petty internet rumors about an alleged feud between her and “The Color Purple” star Taraji P. Henson.
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In case you missed it, talk of a false feud made its rounds on the internet just before Christmas 2023 thanks to a now viral video of the two ladies’ in a seemingly awkward interaction during a “The Color Purple” photo op. Oprah serves as one of the executive producers and has been right there alongside the cast during many of press tour stops, but folks assumed there was some sort of negative hidden undercurrent between Queen O and Taraji during their visit to the Empire State Building in New York.
Now, speaking to ET’s Kevin Frazier on the red carpet at the 2024 Golden Globes on Sunday—where some dressed to impress, and other didn’t—Oprah made it very clear there was no bad blood between the two and took the time to address the public’s growing outrage.
“I would just like to say, I heard I was trending yesterday because people were saying I was not supporting Taraji. Taraji will tell you herself that I’ve been the greatest champion of this film. Championing not only the behind-the-scenes productions but also everything that everybody needed,” she said. “So whenever I heard that there was something that people needed, I’m not in charge of the budget ‘cuz that’s Warner Brothers. You know, that’s the way the studio system works. And we as producers, everyone gets their salary, that’s negotiated by your team. And so whenever I heard there was an issue, there was a problem, there was a problem with the cars, a problem with the food—I would step in and do whatever I could to make it right. And I believe that she would even vouch for that and say that is true.”
In fact, Taraji did, in fact vouch for Oprah and also shut down talks of any in-fighting in a post to Instagram just before Christmas 2023:
It is so important for black women and ALL women of color to support each other. It is also imperative to have women of color in decision making positions across ALL industries. Thank you for responding to my message with the compassion, understanding and support that I’ve received.💜🙏🏾💜 With that being said… Ms. OPRAH has been nothing less than a steady and solid beacon of light to ALL OF THE CAST of The Color Purple!!! She has provided ENCOURAGEMENT, GUIDANCE and UNWAVERING SUPPORT to us all. She told me personally to reach out to her for ANYTHING I needed, and I did! It took ONE CALL… ONE CONVERSATION… and ONE DECISION MAKING BLACK WOMAN to make me feel heard. Thank You Ms. @OPRAH For ALL That You Do
Additionally, when speaking to her best friend Gayle King on the Golden Globes red carpet on Sunday for CBS, Oprah further reiterated that there were no issues between her and the “Empire” star—a stance that was further corroborated by Taraji’s fellow “Color Purple” costars Fantasia Barrino-Taylor and Danielle Brooks.
Speaking on it herself, Fantasia took the time talk about the dangers of people just putting things out on social media, calling the talk “nonsense” and an attempt to “break down” the healing aspect of the movie.
“I’m a mother of young kids. Social media has become a thing. Social media has become a thing where they take something that’s not even true and run it and run it and run it,” Fantasia said. “And sometimes it’s almost like, ‘you guys, some of the interviews you’re posting happened long ago and it wasn’t that.’ So at the end of the day, when we first said that this movie was gonna be a healing thing at CinemaCon, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that people would try to break that down. Anything that has healing a part of it, they will do so.”
“So we have to overlook all that other stuff and keep shining bright ‘cause this movie, ‘The Color Purple,’ is healing the land, baby. So no matter what, I just want to say: it’s nonsense,” Fantasia concluded.
Amen.
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