*Gayle King asked Oprah Winfrey about the feud rumors with Taraji P. Henson while on the Golden Globes 2024 red carpet.
Winfrey appeared to address a viral video that shows the media mogul seemingly acting shady towards Henson during a promotional appearance at the Empire State Building. Some fans believe there is trouble between the actress and Oprah, and Henson is holding back tears in the controversial TikTok clip.
Winfrey, one of the producers of “The Color Purple” movie musical, called the rumors “disturbing.”
“It’s so disturbing to me,” Winfrey told King. “Why is my name even in this conversation? Why is my name in this conversation? ‘Cause I have just been the champion for everybody.
“The thing that is so upsetting to me is that … something went viral where they’re analyzing us on top of the Empire State Building. We were cold! It was cold,” she continued. “That was the fourth thing we had done that day.”
@wtgsis What did #Oprah do to #tarajiphenson? This photo op was awkward. #colorpurple #taraji #fantasia ♬ original sound – sweetnurse
In a separate conversation with ET on the Golden Globes red carpet, Winfrey addressed the alleged tension with the cast.
“I would just like to say about this whole Taraji thing… “People are saying that I was not supporting Taraji. Taraji will tell you herself that I’ve been the greatest champion of this film,” Winfrey Entertainment Tonight on Jan. 7, Vibe reports.
Winfrey said she is “Championing not only the behind-the-scenes projection” on the film “but also everything that everybody needed,” she added.
“So whenever I heard that there was something that someone needed, I’m not in charge of the budget because that’s Warner Brothers you know that’s the way the studio system works,” Winfrey said.
Speaking to The New York Times, Henson said the cast of “The Color Purple” got “a lot of stuff on that set” because she fought for it — including transportation to the set and sufficient trailers.
Gayle King asked Oprah and ‘The Color Purple’ cast about rumors of tensions with Taraji P. Henson on set.
“When we first said that this movie was going to be a healing thing… I knew without a shadow of a doubt that people would try to bring that down” 💜pic.twitter.com/4pL63oXqBA
— Okayplayer (@okayplayer) January 8, 2024
Henson’s co-star Danielle Brooks said Taraji “spoke up for us” behind the scenes, as the cast also didn’t have adequate food until Henson called up Oprah and lodged a complaint.
“So that was one thing, trailers were another thing, food was another thing. And everything got handled,” Winfrey explained to King at the Golden Globes on Sunday.
“I heard that Taraji was upset because she had been asked to [use] a rental car,” Winfrey added. “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.’”
READ MORE: Oprah Responds to Taraji P. Henson’s Production Concerns on ‘The Color Purple’ | Video
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