The former 'Empire' star thinks the feud rumors were just an attempt to 'pit two Black women together' and now she wants people to 'focus back onto this film.'
- Jan 19, 2024
AceShowbiz - Taraji P. Henson has made it clear that there is no bad blood between her and Oprah Winfrey. The actress shut down rumors saying she was feuding with the billionaire over "The Color Purple" and even praised the latter for "showing up."
The 53-year-old set the record straight in an interview with Today.com. "I see what's going on, but there's nothing spin there," she told the outlet. "You saw the woman doing the electric slide in the dust with us."
"She was right there in the field doing the electric slide. She held our hands the entire production," the Golden Globe Award winner added. "She showed up, she was there - there are producers that don't show up on set."
Noting that "[Oprah] would step in and do whatever (she) could to make it right" on set, Taraji continued, "You know, she called me, she called me personally." She then emphasized, "Not my team, not my people - me."
"And [she] asked me, 'Taraji, if there's anything you need, you let me know,' " the Oscar nominee went on recalling. "And I said it with a shaking voice, I was like, 'Well, yeah,' — since she asked. And I told her and she fixed everything the next day."
Taraji also applauded the producer for stepping up, saying, "That's what a producer is supposed to do." She then gushed, "She held our hands the entire production. She showed up, she was there - there are producers that don't show up on set."
For Taraji, the feud rumors were just an attempt to "pit two Black women together." She added, "Not on my watch. I hope they can focus back onto this film, because right now, to me, it feels like what I said is now becoming louder than this beautiful film."
