*Were you looking forward to watching Oprah Winfrey’s latest documentary on her life? Well, you better close your eyes because there’s nothing to watch, at least anytime soon. If ever. That’s because the 70-year-old media mogul reportedly paid an outrageous sum to Apple TV+ to regain control of a two-part documentary about her life.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald directs the docu-series. You certainly remember when the project was first announced with much fanfare in 2021. Things were moving according to plans until Oprah saw the final product. She refused to give it the green light because she was unsatisfied with it. According to some sources, Oprah wanted it edited, theJasmineBrand reported.
“Kevin made the film, but Oprah didn’t like it and he refused to change it, and Oprah has paid back her fee to Apple,” claimed the source. However, someone from Oprah’s team has a different view of what occurred. According to a source on her side, the project collapsed not because Kevin Macdonald refused to make edits but because the billionaire simply figured out it wasn’t the right time to release the film.
“As the Apple TV+ deal was coming to an end, Ms. Winfrey bought back the rights to her docu-series and has since decided to put the doc on hold. Ms. Winfrey believes Lisa Erspamer [producer] and Kevin Macdonald are incredibly talented filmmakers and is grateful for the time and energy they put into the project.”
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Industry insiders speculate Oprah paid millions to reclaim the rights. Again, a different source denies this, instead saying the buyback didn’t reach seven figures.
Whatever the reasons for Oprah’s decision to buy back rights to the docu-series, it’s not the first time she has disrupted an ongoing project by pulling out or distancing herself from it. In 2020, she abruptly dropped out of “On the Record” just days before the Sundance Film Festival premiere. The documentary is about sexual misconduct allegations against music mogul Russell Simmons.
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