For reasons good, bad, ugly, and everything in between, 2024 was one for the books!

As the year draws to a close, That Grape Juice is reflecting on the occasions that rocked – and to some degree – maybe even reshaped the Urban and Pop cultural landscape as we know it.

Now, let’s take a look at how one of the decade’s most highly anticipated films may have suffered commercially due to an overshadowing controversy.

From morning and late night talk shows to radio, print, magazines, blogs, podcasts, and beyond, the promotional blitz for the ‘Color Purple‘ musical movie adaptation was bodacious – a standing that made many think the film was coming to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the decade.

Rightfully so, as it not only assembled an all-star cast in the likes of Fantasia, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Halle Bailey, Ciara, Tamela Mann, Jon Batiste, H.E.R., and more, it also had the blessing of the original’s cast leader Whoopi Goldberg (who guest starred in the 2023 edition) as well as producers Oprah Winfrey and director Steven Spielberg.

Yet, despite its out of the box success in December 2023, that jet soon cooled as headlines turned to Henson’s shocking revelation of wanting to retire from the entertainment industry all together due to years of being underpaid – a status she suggested didn’t change when she accepted the role of ‘Shug Avery’ in ‘Purple.’

And while she garnered her fair share of support from fellow Black actresses like Gabrielle Union, KeKe Palmer, and more, her bemoaning of salary unexpectedly turned critics against Winfrey.

Chatter that spilled over into 2024, Oprah faced a barrage of questions during award season about the status of her relationship with Henson – forcing both stars to have to go into clean-up mode as the film suffered at box offices and leading Taraji to slam the public for focusing more on the off-screen drama than the on-screen.

Taraji P. Henson: It’s “Not Fair” That Rumored Oprah Feud & Unfair Pay Comments Are Overshadowing ‘Color Purple’

By the year’s end, ‘Purple’ was deemed a commercial failure having grossed only $68 million against its reported $100 million budget.

On the critical front, the film and its stars also lost every major industry award they were up for during the 2024 season including Golden Globes and Academy Awards.

Your thoughts?

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