It was a full-circle moment on this morning’s episode of The View when Whoopi Goldberg, who played the original Celie in The Color Purple in 1985, interviewed Fantasia Barrino, who took over the character for the upcoming 2023 version of the film.
During their conversation, Barrino — who appeared on the daytime talk show alongside castmates Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson and director Blitz Bazawule — opened up about her decision to film a domestic violence scene where her character is beaten by her husband (Colman Domingo) without using a stunt double.
“It was spiritual,” Barrino explained. “It was important for me to do it so that I could let some things in my past go. It was the last whooping that I had to think about, you know what I mean?”
According to the actress, Domingo even tried to convince her to use a stunt double — but she wouldn’t budge.
“Colman didn’t want me to do it,” she said. “He was like, ‘Nope! Get her out of here right now!’ I was like, ‘Colman, please.’ And he asked me, ‘Why do you want to do this?’ And I said, ‘I need it. It’s for me.'”
Elsewhere in the interview, Barrino — who first played Celie in the Broadway production of The Color Purple back in 2007 — explained why she initially turned down the opportunity to reprise the role for the film version.
“Her walk is not an easy walk. And she carries a lot. She carries everybody,” the singer said. “At the time when I was doing Broadway, I was carrying everybody. My life was so much like Celie’s. So I guess I just went back to that.”
While it was difficult for her to put herself in Celie’s shoes again, Barrino was “glad” she took on the role in the end.
“I’m not that girl anymore and I got to see so many different things in Celie,” she said. “She was really … the ish. She was dope, she was beautiful, she was bold, she was strong, she held everybody together and she went through a lot of things. But look at Celie now!”
The View airs on weekdays at 11/10c on ABC. The Color Purple premieres in theaters Dec. 25.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.