Oprah Winfrey clarified that rumors of a problem between her and Taraji P. Henson are not true.
Winfrey told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet at the Golden Globes on Jan. 7, 2023. She said, "There’s no validity to there being a ‘thing’ between Taraji and me." Winfrey added, “I heard I was trending yesterday because people are saying that I was not supporting Taraji.”
She further stated, “Taraji will tell you herself that I have been the greatest champion of this film, championing not only the behind-the-scenes production but also everything that everybody needed.” Winfrey also clarified that she had no control over the budget for the film adaptation of the musical version of "The Color Purple," of which Oprah Winfrey is a producer. She explained, “Whenever I heard there was an issue or a problem, like with the cars or 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 it’s true.”
Rumors of conflict between Winfrey and Henson began circulating online in December after Henson made comments about pay disparity between Black and White actors during the press tour for “The Color Purple.” In an interview with SAG-AFTRA, Henson revealed she almost had to turn down "The Color Purple" because of the initial salary offer. Winfrey, in a later interview, disclosed that she herself was only paid $35,000 for her role as Sofia in "The Color Purple" in 1985.
Taraji P. Henson told Gayle King for Sirius XM on Dec. 19, “I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost.” She added, “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ I have to. The math ain’t mathing. And when you start working a lot, you have a team. Big bills come with what we do. We don’t do this alone. It’s a whole entire team behind us. They have to get paid.”
During her Golden Globes interview, Winfrey also addressed speculation that she and Henson were giving each other the cold shoulder during a photo shoot on the top of the Empire State Building.
“There was something online about us being separated at the top of the Empire State Building,” Winfrey said. “On that particular day, we were so cold. So, I don’t know what kind of body language people were talking about. I was just trying to stay warm, and that was the fourth thing we had done."
Nonetheless, we can put the rumors of a feud between these two to rest.
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