Taraji P. Henson is finally clearing the air when it comes to "The Color Purple" drama and those rumors of a rift between her and Oprah Winfrey.
Suggested Reading
In case you forgot, Henson stepped into the iconic role of Shug Avery in Warner Bros' flashy musical film reboot of "The Color Purple" in 2023. While promoting the film, Henson went viral while sitting down with Gayle King, breaking down in tears over the pay disparity in Hollywood, especially as a Black actress. Many saw this as her taking a shot at Oprah, especially due to the fact that Winfrey was one of the main producers on the film. On the latest episode of "The Breakfast Club," however, she finally set the record straight.
Host Charlamagne Tha God brought up the topic directly, saying that a lot of people thought Henson was "kicking Tyler Perry and Oprah's back in" when she made those comments. Henson immediately denied this to the radio host, saying, "Oh my god, why would they think that?" When Charlamagne clarified that it may be because they are producers, she then responded, "You know they have bosses, right?"
Henson, of course, is referring to the fact that producers don't necessarily set the rate that actors get paid, and they have studios above them that they answer to.
She then asked, "When have you ever seen me drag another woman, particularly a Black woman, ever? I'm ten toes down for us." She then proceeded to say that "blogs" ran with the rumors of a feud between her and Tyler and Oprah was a part of a "campaign" so that this Black movie" wouldn't do well."
Henson added that she was hurt when some places reported that the movie didn't perform as well because of her comments on pay while promoting it, calling it "total B.S."
She went on to say that she has such a "love and fondness" for Oprah. "She just texted me the other day, commending me on a job well done in 'Straw.' So that was all fictitious." She added that she thinks people were trying to "draw a wedge" between them, but that she won't let people do that.
She had amazing things to saw about Tyler Perry as well, saying that she will always work with him. "We have fun on that set, I love that he challenges me," she added. "I'm never gonna turn my back on us...people who go to the Tyler Perry films, that's a huge population of us."
Check out the full interview below.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.