Despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, The Color Purple cast got one of their most-anticipated interviews out of the way months ago.
ESSENCE revealed its November/December 2023 Holiday issue on Tuesday (Oct. 17) with the women of the new Color Purple musical remake—Fantasia, Oprah Winfrey, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson, and H.E.R.—gracing the cover. In the conversation among the women, they spoke on the film’s legacy, its representation of sisterhood, and paid tribute to the women from the 1985 Oscar-nominated film.
Oprah was the one who posed the question for everyone else to give their on-screen predecessors their flowers. “This has a legacy—the book Alice Walker wrote [in 1982], then our film version in 1985, then the musical in 2005 and again in 2015. And now here we are,” she began.
“If given the opportunity, what would you say to the women who played your characters in the original 1985 cast of The Color Purple?,” Winfrey asked.
Fantasia answered, “I would say thank you, Ms. Whoopi Goldberg, for not being afraid to play Celie. For being honest. Thank you for paving the way for girls like myself.” The “Truth Is” singer almost declined the role when asked because “I knew I was going to have to step into some things that I’d buried,” but thankfully, she faced her battles head-on and was well-supported.
Henson, who plays Shug Avery, thanked Margaret Avery. “You taught me how to be sexy and how to see myself as a fully realized sexy woman,” said the Hidden Figures actress. “This industry can do a job on you and give you some insecurities. And when I found Ms. Shug Avery, she just made me feel like a woman. I was the one who always covered up. I didn’t feel right in my body. So to see this beautiful Black woman on the screen made me feel seen.”
Avery took on the role after Tina Turner turned down roles as both Celie and Shug because it felt too similar to her life with Ike Turner.
H.E.R. thanked Rae Dawn Chong, who played Squeak, for “giving me an opportunity to show myself. A lot of people know me and my music, but they don’t really know me.”
Meanwhile, the person Brooks was set to thank was right next to her.
“I don’t know if I can do this without crying, because this is special,” said the Orange Is The New Black star. Oprah affectionately called her, “Baby girl,” before Brooks continued.
“I just want to thank you, Ms. Oprah, for surrendering to God and his plan for your life. You have shown me how to do that. Thank you for laying the blueprint for Sofia—because I know that she’s changed your life, and I can feel that mine is about to shift, too. Thank you for leaving space for me but also being there, to hold my hand and answer that phone call when I needed you. You have been such a light, such a beautiful soul,” she stated.
Oprah’s first feature film role was as Sofia in the 1985 Steven Spielberg-directed film and she only earned $35,000 for it. She considered the musical remake to be a “full circle moment.”
For those questioning Halle Bailey’s absence, the shoot and subsequent conversation took place back in May during her Little Mermaid promotional run.
The Color Purple (2023) is a big-screen adaptation of the Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical, not a remake of the original book-to-film adaptation. It stars Fantasia as Celie, Brooks as Sofia, Henson as Shug, H.E.R. as Squeak, Bailey as Young Nettie, Colman Domingo as Mister, and Corey Hawkins as Harpo. It premieres in theaters on Christmas Day.
