Oprah Winfrey has shut down rumors suggesting she and Taraji P. Henson don’t get along. Amid a conversation with Gayle King for CBS Mornings at the Golden Globes last week, the media mogul admitted she finds talk of a feud between herself and The Color Purple actress to be concerning.
“It’s so disturbing to me,” she declared. “Why is my name even in this conversation? Why is my name in this conversation? ‘Cause I have just been the champion for everybody.”
Rumors started that the two women didn’t like each other after Henson complained publicly about attempts by producers to save money on the set of the new musical. The Empire actress has been open about a small initial salary offer and also alleged she and other cast members were told they would need to drive their rental cars to set.
When King asked about the topic, Winfrey explained, “I heard that Taraji was upset because she had been asked to (use) a rental car. 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.’”
Henson also shutdown feud speculation, writing in an Instagram post, “Ms. OPRAH has been nothing less than a steady and solid beacon of light to ALL OF THE CAST of The Color Purple!!! She has provided ENCOURAGEMENT, GUIDANCE and UNWAVERING SUPPORT to us all. She told me personally to reach out to her for ANYTHING I needed, and I did!”
The Color Purple also features Danielle Brooks and Colman Domingo.