Taraji P. Henson Slams Oprah Winfrey Feud Rumors

She continued, “And that’s not fair to me, or anybody in the film, because the film deals with women who live in an oppressed system. Men and women. And all the characters in that film except for the white people. So that movie is about healing. That movie is about sisterhood.”

For her part, Oprah also recently addressed the rumors after online chatter grew louder.

“I heard I was trending yesterday because people are saying that I was not supporting Taraji,” she told Entertainment Tonight on the Golden Globes red carpet Jan. 7. “Taraji will tell you herself that I have been the greatest champion of this film, championing not only the behind-the-scenes production but also everything that everybody needed.” 

But as Oprah noted in her conversation with ET, the film’s final budget was up to Warner Bros., giving the media mogul no control over film salaries. 

“I’m not in charge of the budget, that’s the way the studio system works,” she added.  “Whenever I heard there was an issue of there was a problem—there was a problem with the cars, or a problem with the food—I would step in and do whatever I could to make it right.”