Nearly 40 years after the original “The Color Purple” failed to win a single award at the 1986 Oscars — despite its whopping 11 nominations — one of the film’s stars, Whoopi Goldberg, is finally getting her flowers.
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During Thursday’s episode of “The View,” the new cast of the upcoming movie musical adaptation of The Color Purple — namely Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, director Blitz Bazawule and Fantasia Barrino-Taylor (who plays Celie, as Whoopi did) applauded the longtime “View” cohost for her contributions to the cinematic classic.
The long-overdue moment came after Goldberg asked Bazawule what made him want to take on the film given it’s lofty legacy.
“It’s an incredible cinematic classic and we owe you,” Bazawule says around the 6-minute mark before Henson, Brooks, Barrino-Taylor and the audience gives her a standing ovation for her monumental role.
“We wouldn’t be here without you,” added Brooks.
Goldberg received a nomination for Best Actress for her role as Celie at the 1986 Oscars. Though she didn’t take home the gold, she was awarded a Golden Globe for her portrayal in the Alice Walker novel adaptation.
During her speech at the 1986 Globes, Goldberg described the win as something the kind of stuff you dream about and thanked then director Steven Spielberg for “pulling something out of me I didn’t know I was capable of,” per The Hollywood Reporter.
Now, thanks to the new “The Color Purple” all these years later, Goldberg herself is getting rightfully showered with gratitude for being the role model for younger Black actresses and cementing her position as Hollywood royalty. In a interview in the 2023 holiday issue of ESSENCE Magazine, Barrino-Taylor thanked the “Ghost” actress for “paving the way.”
“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,” she said.
“The Color Purple” hits theaters everywhere on Christmas Day.
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