Paula Abdul and Fantasia Barrino Have ‘American Idol’ Reunion at ‘The Color Purple’ Premiere

Fantasia Barrino and Paula Abdul reunited 20 years after they first met during ‘American Idol’ at ‘The Color Purple’ premiere in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

via People:

Barrino — who stars in The Color Purple — won the third season of American Idol when she was just 19 years old in 2004. At the time, Abdul, 61, was a judge.

In The Color Purple, Barrino, 39, plays lead character Celie, a Black woman living in the Jim Crow south whom the film follows throughout her life. Barrino previously portrayed the character on Broadway in the mid-2000s; Whoopi Goldberg originally played Celie on screen in Steven Spielberg‘s original 1985 film adaptation of The Color Purple book.

Since she won Idol, Barrino has taken on multiple Broadway roles over the years and released seven studio albums. The Color Purple marked a return to a character that she was initially hesitant to revisit.

“I want to thank Celie, a role that I ran from. And when they called me, I said I was not coming back to play,” she told the audience while taking the stage with her costars Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks at ELLE’s Women in Hollywood Awards in Los Angeles. “But it wasn’t until our great director [Blitz Bazawule] called me and said, ‘I’m giving Celie an imagination,’ and I said, ‘OK, I’m in.’ “

“Because I was a young lady that went through a lot of things and lost a lot, and lost everything twice,” she added. “I never thought I would be back here in front of y’all.”

The film also stars Halle Bailey, Louis Gossett Jr., Corey Hawkins, David Alan Grier, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, H.E.R., Ciara, Jon Batiste and Deon Cole.

“Because of Celie, I’m standing here and I want to speak to all of the Celies in the room tonight who didn’t think you could make it out of certain situations,” Barrino said at the event. “All of my Black women who felt like you were not pretty enough [or] you didn’t have what it takes.”

The Color Purple is in theaters Dec. 25.

We can’t believe it’s been 20 years since Fantasia won. Time is MOVING.

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