Taraji P. Henson’s complaints about her treatment during the production of The Color Purple have been making headlines, with Oprah and Vivica A. Fox chiming in.
Now, Fantasia has offered her opinion on some of the negativity surrounding the musical.
"Social media has become a thing where they will take something that's not even true and run it," Fantasia explained to Gayle King at the Golden Globes. “When we first said that this movie was going to be a healing thing. … I knew without a shadow of a doubt that people would try to break that down."
“Anything that has healing [as] a part of it, they would do so. So we have to overlook all of that other stuff and keep shining bright ‘cause this movie, The Color Purple, is healing the land, baby. So no matter what, I just wanna say, it’s nonsense.”
Fantasia’s comments arrived after Fox said on Tuesday that she hasn’t experienced the same mistreatment in Hollywood as Henson.
When asked by TMZ if now was the right time for the entertainment industry to have a conversation about the mishandling of Black actresses, Fox said, "I'm very happy, very blessed, and to each his own." She continued, "I didn't have that experience ... But to get your peace out is important. I totally understand that and I love my girls for looking out for each other. But I'm good."
During the Globes, Oprah shut down rumors that she and Henson were beefing. "People are saying that I was not supporting Taraji,” Oprah said. “Taraji will tell you herself that I've been the greatest champion of this film. Championing not only the behind-the-scenes production but also everything that everybody needed.”
Oprah's comments come after last week, when Henson said she pushed back on TCP production requesting that the cast drive themselves to set in rental cars.
“They gave us rental cars, and I was like, ‘I can’t drive myself to set in Atlanta.’ This is insurance liability, it’s dangerous. Now they robbing people,” she told The New York Times. “What do I look like, taking myself to work by myself in a rental car? So I was like, ‘Can I get a driver or security to take me?’ I’m not asking for the moon. They’re like, ‘Well, if we do it for you, we got to do it for everybody.’”
She continued, “Well, do it for everybody! It’s stuff like that, stuff I shouldn’t have to fight for,” she said. “I was on the set of Empire fighting for trailers that wasn’t infested with bugs.”
Meanwhile, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi—who plays young Celie in The Color Purple—posted a TikTok, lamenting that she wasn't invited to the Golden Globes.
