Oprah Winfrey opened her wallet to prevent the publication of a documentary that was being made about her.
The 70-year-old tycoon, with an estimated fortune of $3 billion, shelled out an untold fortune to stop the release of a new documentary on Apple TV Plus, according to Page six.
The project was first announced in January 2021, with Kevin Macdonald (Whitney) attached to direct and The Oprah Winfrey Show producer Lisa Erspamer serving as producer.
Nothing has been revealed about the documentary since, and this report claims that Winfrey (who recently revealed her explosive new interview) and Macdonald “clashed” over the film.
“Kevin made the movie, but Oprah didn’t like it and refused to change it, and Oprah returned her fee to Apple,” a source said.
Oprah Winfrey opened her wallet to prevent the publication of a documentary that was being made about her
The 70-year-old mogul, worth an estimated $3 billion, shelled out an untold fortune to stop the release of a new documentary on Apple TV Plus, according to Page Six
“Kevin made the movie, but Oprah didn’t like it and refused to change it, and Oprah gave her fee back to Apple,” a source said.
A spokesperson for Winfrey confirmed that she had bought back the rights and decided to shelve the project.
“As the Apple TV+ deal was coming to an end, Ms. Winfrey regained the rights to her documentary series and has since decided to put the documentary on hold,” the source said.
Winfrey’s content deal with Apple TV Plus ended in September 2022, and she decided to buy back the rights then.
“Ms. Winfrey believes Lisa Erspamer and Kevin MacDonald are incredibly talented filmmakers and is grateful for the time and energy they put into the project,” the rep said.
Another source close to Winfrey insisted that Macdonald did not refuse to make edits as others claimed, but that Winfrey simply changed her mind.
The second source said Winfrey believed: ‘“It wasn’t the right time to make a documentary,” he said before taking back the rights, a decision not often seen.
Industry sources said Winfrey would have had to shell out millions to regain the rights, although others denied she paid more than seven figures for the rights.
Erspamer produced The Oprah Winfrey Show from 1999 to 2009 and partnered with Macdonald on the 2018 documentary Whitney, about the life of Whitney Houston.
A spokesperson for Winfrey confirmed that she had bought the rights back and decided to shelve the project.
“When the Apple TV+ deal was about to end, Ms. Winfrey regained the rights to her documentary series and has since decided to put the documentary on hold,” the source said.
The second source said Winfrey believed “it wasn’t the right time to do a documentary” before buying the rights back, a move not often seen.
The project was initially announced as a two-part documentary with Macdonald as director and Rolake Bamgbose as showrunner.
The documentary was to be a two-part release that would chronicle 25 years of American history through Oprah’s rise to fame.
Apple TV Plus and Oprah’s Harpo production company signed a multi-year deal in 2018, but it ended in 2022.
Macdonald has yet to publicly comment on the documentary or its possible shelving at this time.