Oprah Winfrey recently revealed why she decided against making a cameo in the new musical movie adaptation of “The Color Purple.”
Admitting that she “thought about it,” she ultimately determined it would be “distracting” from Danielle Brooks, who costars in the film as the larger-than-life Sofia.
“Actually, I thought about it,” Winfrey told The Hollywood Reporter. “It would’ve been good in the church scene, but I thought it would also be distracting when Sofia is getting married that if the old original Sofia was just one of the people in the church.”
Winfrey, who produced the feature film from director Blitz Bazawule, also said the circumstances around filming were a hindrance to her participation in front of the camera.
“Then they were shooting that in the middle of Georgia when COVID was [spreading]. Like, ‘OK, well I ain’t sitting in that church all day anyway,’” she recalled thinking.
“The Color Purple,” which costars “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino as the adult Celie, Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery and “Rustin” star Colman Domingo as Mister, does, however, feature a memorable surprise cameo from one of the Steven Spielberg film’s original stars. (Minor spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen it yet.)
Whoopi Goldberg, who starred in the 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel as Celie, plays the midwife through a young Celie’s childbirth, as portrayed by Phylicia Pearl Mpasi.
Speaking about Goldberg’s cameo, Winfrey added that she thinks “it’s more special that it’s just Whoopi” instead of her making an appearance in the film.
“[We] just thought it was a wonderful Easter egg for audiences who have appreciated the film over the years, for the diehards,” Winfrey said. “And we also thought it was a lovely homage to Whoopi.”
“The Color Purple” opened to a whopping $18 million Christmas Day opening and is playing nationwide now.
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