Why Oprah Winfrey opted out of latest adaption of The Color Purple

Devotees of the classic The Color Purple surely rejoiced at the unexpected cameo by Whoopi Goldberg in the new musical reimagining. However, the absence of Goldberg's original co-star, Oprah Winfrey, raises the question: Why didn't the media mogul, 69, who played Sofia alongside Goldberg's Celie in Steven Spielberg's 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker’s 1982 novel, also make a cameo appearance?

Nostalgia vs. Pandemic Realities

While producing the new film, Winfrey shared with The Hollywood Reporter that she did contemplate a cameo. In her words, "[A cameo] 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." She added, "And 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.'"

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Screenwriter Marcus Gardley explained to The Los Angeles Times that he crafted a midwife character for Goldberg in the film to symbolize a passing of the torch from the original Spielberg production to the new adaptation, transitioning the Broadway stage show to the big screen. Brooks, 34, and Barrino, 39, both reprised their movie characters on Broadway before joining the cast of the new film.

Oprah Shines in The Color Purple Press Tour

While absent from the new movie, Winfrey has been a prominent figure in The Color Purple's press tour. She shared with People Magazine that the original film remains "the most important thing that had ever happened to me and continues to be a central theme in my life."

Reflecting on the past, she expressed, "It's as big a miracle as my whole life has been because I didn’t know one single soul in the business." Despite her background in television news, The Color Purple marked Winfrey's debut feature film credit and her first-ever experience on a film set.

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