Chaka Khanwasn’t interested in starring inThe Color Purple.
During the iconic singer’s appearance onThe Jennifer Hudson ShowFriday, Khan, 69, couldn’t help but laugh as she claimed that she turned downSteven Spielberg’s offer to star in the classic 1985 film afterJennifer Hudsonasked about projects Khan had declined over the years.
“Funny you should ask that,” Khan said. “Well you know I turned downThe Color Purple, the movie.”
Khan’s answer appeared to shock both Hudson, 41, and her audience. TheRespectstar exclaimed “What?” at Khan’s answer, while a number of audience members could be heard gasping.
The performer struggled for a moment to remember Spielberg’s name as she recalled the director asking her to play Celie, whoWhoopi Goldbergwound up portraying in the movie.
“Yeah, what’s his name? The guy who did the original?” Khan asked, before remembering she was speaking of Spielberg.
“Yeah, he came to me and he said he wanted me to do this movie calledThe Color Purple,” she told Hudson. “I was about — how old was I? — 20, 22 tops, and he [asked me if I wanted to be in] this movie.”
Roy Rochlin/Getty
“And I said, ‘What movie?’ And he said, ‘This movie calledThe Color Purple,’ and he says, ‘And it is a movie that is shot down south, it’s about the south,’ so I was like trying to run [from] that because I was afraid, I was like, ‘Oh God, a movie, oh my God,’ " Khan continued.
“I like detested school and tests and studying, you know, I said, ‘Oh, that means I’d have to learn the script,’ " she added.
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“Imagine Chaka Khan as Celie, y’all?” Hudson asked her audience after Khan revealed who Spielberg asked her to play.
“Woulda been hot,” Khan replied.
“That would have been a whole otherColor Purple,” Hudson said.
Oprah Winfrey in the 1985 film adaptation ofThe Color Purple.Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
At CultureCon New York in October, Henson, 52, told audiences about theexperience of starring in the movie musicaland the importance of having representation behind the camera to bring the piece to life for the big screen.
“It was empowering,” she said. “I think you guys are going to be experiencingThe Color Purplefor the first time from a Black perspective.”
Henson added that producer Spielberg understood the importance of having a Black person tell the story. “You will see the differences right away,” she told the CultureCon attendees. “That’s why it’s important for all you filmmakers, writers, up-and-coming producers and directors [to] tell our stories.”
source: people.com
