Chaka Khan Reveals She Turned Down Leading Role In ‘The Color Purple’ Movie: I Was Afraid

Chaka Khan Reveals She Turned Down Leading Role In ‘The Color Purple’ Movie: I Was Afraid

It looks like Chaka Khan turned down a major role in the classic film, ‘The Color Purple.’

 During a recent appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Chaka Khan, 69, revealed that she turned down Steven Spielberg’s offer to star in the classic 1985 film.

When asked about projects the iconic singer had declined over the years, Chaka Khan said,

“Funny you should ask that. Well you know I turned down The Color Purple, the movie.”

Chaka Khan’s answer shocked Jennifer Hudson, as she exclaimed,

“What?!”

Chaka Khan recalled,

“Yeah, he [Spielberg] came to me and he said he wanted me to do this movie called ‘The Color Purple.’ I was about — how old was I? — 20, 22 tops, and he [asked me if I wanted to be in] this movie.”

Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan continued,

“And I said, ‘What movie?’ And he said, ‘This movie called The 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.'”

She added,

“I like detested school and tests and studying, you know, I said, ‘Oh, that means I’d have to learn the script.'”

Chaka Khan also revealed that not only did Steven Spielberg want her in the movie, but he wanted her to play the lead role of Celie!

Jennifer Hudson then asked her audience,

“Imagine Chaka Khan as Celie, y’all?”

Chaka Khan replied,

“Woulda been hot.”

Hudson said,

“That would have been a whole other Color Purple.“

See the clip below:

The Color Purple, which stars Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, and Whoopi Goldberg, was produced by Spielberg and Quincy Jones. The film received 11 nominations at the 58th Academy Awards.

The Color Purple is a 1985 American coming-of-age period drama film that tells the story of a young African-American girl named Celie Harris. The story highlights the problems African-American women experienced during the early 20th century, including domestic violence, incest, pedophilia, poverty, racism, and sexism.

What are your thoughts on Chaka Khan being asked to be in The Color Purple? Let us know in the comments below!

[VIA]