Oprah denies rumors of Taraji P. Henson feud on The Color Purple: ‘I’ve been the greatest champion of this film’

“There’s no validity to there being a thing between Taraji and I.”

Oprah Winfrey has nothing but love for Taraji P. Henson.

The media personality and star of the original The Color Purple once again shut down rumors of tension between her and the Empire actress, who plays Shug Avery in the Winfrey-produced The Color Purple. “I would just like to say about this whole Taraji thing … I heard I was trending yesterday,” Winfrey told ET. “People are saying that I was not supporting Taraji. Taraji will tell you herself that I’ve been the greatest champion of this film. Championing not only the behind the scenes projection but also everything that everybody needed. So whenever I heard that there was something that someone needed, I’m not in charge of the budget because that’s Warner Brothers you know that’s the way the studio system works.”

Oprah Winfrey and Taraji P. Henson.ARTURO HOLMES/THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER VIA GETTY IMAGES

Henson had previously commented on the unfair pay disparity between her and her costars on multiple projects. “I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson said on SiriusXM. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ I have to. The math ain’t mathing.”

Henson also said that she had to fight for her and her costars to be driven to the set of The Color Purple instead of driving themselves in rental cars. “This is insurance liability, it’s dangerous. Now they robbing people. What do I look like, taking myself to work by myself in a rental car?” she told The New York Times. “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.’ Well, do it for everybody! It’s stuff like that, stuff I shouldn’t have to fight for.”

Winfrey denied having any influence over salary negotiations. “We as producers, everybody gets their salary, everybody is negotiated by your team,” she told ET. “And so, whenever I heard there was an issue or there was a problem, there was a problem with a cars or the problem with their food, I would step in and do whatever I could to make it right. And I believe that she would even vouch for that and say that is true.”

Winfrey also acknowledged speculation over a hyper-scrutinized interaction between her and Henson at a photoshoot. “I am all for everybody being the greatest and rising to meet the rising of their own life,” she said. “There was something online about us being separated at the top of the Empire State Building. On that particular day, we were so cold so I don’t know what kind of body language people were talking about. I was literally just trying to stay warm and that was the fourth thing we had done. There’s no validity to there being a thing between Taraji and I.”

Henson previously denied rumors of bad blood between her and Winfrey. “Ms. OPRAH has been nothing less than a steady and solid beacon of light to ALL OF THE CAST of The Color Purple!!!” she wrote on Instagram. “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 is now playing in theaters.