Reports surrounding tension on the set and production of The Color Purple have painted the project as a rocky one, something that producer Oprah Winfrey says couldn’t be further from the truth.
Speaking to CBS on the red carpet for the 81st Golden Globe Awards, Winfrey spoke about reports that star Taraji P. Henson was upset that she was asked to get a rental car to take herself to set every day.
Winfrey said she quickly got to the bottom of any issues Henson or other actors may have had.
“I heard that Taraji was upset because she had been asked to [use] a rental car,” Winfrey said. “I personally called Toby Emmerich, who was at the time the head of Warner Bros., and he said, “Well that means we have to do cars for everybody.’ And I said, ‘Then we do cars for everybody. And if it’s necessary, I will pay for the cars myself.’ He goes, ‘Well, we don’t want you to do that. So that was one thing, trailers were another thing, food was anther thing. And everything got handled.”
Cast shuts down any rumors of animosity toward one another
Winfrey — who was joined by stars Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks — also touched on rumors of Henson and Winfrey not liking one another after video surfaced of the pair splitting up for group pictures while on a trip to the Empire State Building.
Everyone was quick to speak up that there were no issues, and it was simply just cold, and they had been exhausted from other media visits earlier in the day.
“We were cold! It was cold,” said Winfrey. “That was the fourth thing we had done that day.”
The Color Purple is now available to watch in theaters.
