Paula Abdul; Fantasia Barrino.Photo:FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty; Kayla Oaddams/WireImageThere’s nothing better than an unexpectedIdolreunion!At Wednesday night’s premiere ofThe Color Purpleat The Academy Museum in Los Angeles,Fantasia BarrinoandPaula Abdulwere photographed hugging nearly two decades after Barrino starred in the singing competition show.Barrino — whostars inThe Color Purple— won the third season ofAmerican Idolwhen she was just 19 years old in 2004. At the time, Abdul, 61, was a judge.InThe 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 characteron Broadwayin the mid-2000s;Whoopi Goldbergoriginally played Celie on screen inSteven Spielberg’s original 1985 film adaptation ofThe Color Purplebook.Paula Abdul and Fantasia Barrino in Los Angeles on Dec. 6, 2023.Christopher Polk/Variety via GettySince she wonIdol, Barrino has taken on multiple Broadway roles over the years and released seven studio albums.The Color Purplemarked 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 costarsTaraji P. HensonandDanielle BrooksatELLE’s Women in Hollywood Awardsin 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.“Fantasia Barino and Paula Abdul in 2006.Ray Mickshaw/WireImageThe film also starsHalle 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 Purpleis in theaters Dec. 25.
Paula Abdul; Fantasia Barrino.Photo:FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty; Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty; Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
There’s nothing better than an unexpectedIdolreunion!At Wednesday night’s premiere ofThe Color Purpleat The Academy Museum in Los Angeles,Fantasia BarrinoandPaula Abdulwere photographed hugging nearly two decades after Barrino starred in the singing competition show.Barrino — whostars inThe Color Purple— won the third season ofAmerican Idolwhen she was just 19 years old in 2004. At the time, Abdul, 61, was a judge.InThe 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 characteron Broadwayin the mid-2000s;Whoopi Goldbergoriginally played Celie on screen inSteven Spielberg’s original 1985 film adaptation ofThe Color Purplebook.Paula Abdul and Fantasia Barrino in Los Angeles on Dec. 6, 2023.Christopher Polk/Variety via GettySince she wonIdol, Barrino has taken on multiple Broadway roles over the years and released seven studio albums.The Color Purplemarked 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 costarsTaraji P. HensonandDanielle BrooksatELLE’s Women in Hollywood Awardsin 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.“Fantasia Barino and Paula Abdul in 2006.Ray Mickshaw/WireImageThe film also starsHalle 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 Purpleis in theaters Dec. 25.
There’s nothing better than an unexpectedIdolreunion!
At Wednesday night’s premiere ofThe Color Purpleat The Academy Museum in Los Angeles,Fantasia BarrinoandPaula Abdulwere photographed hugging nearly two decades after Barrino starred in the singing competition show.
Barrino — whostars inThe Color Purple— won the third season ofAmerican Idolwhen she was just 19 years old in 2004. At the time, Abdul, 61, was a judge.
InThe 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 characteron Broadwayin the mid-2000s;Whoopi Goldbergoriginally played Celie on screen inSteven Spielberg’s original 1985 film adaptation ofThe Color Purplebook.
Paula Abdul and Fantasia Barrino in Los Angeles on Dec. 6, 2023.Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty
Since she wonIdol, Barrino has taken on multiple Broadway roles over the years and released seven studio albums.The Color Purplemarked 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 costarsTaraji P. HensonandDanielle BrooksatELLE’s Women in Hollywood Awardsin 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.”
Fantasia Barino and Paula Abdul in 2006.Ray Mickshaw/WireImage
Ray Mickshaw/WireImage
The film also starsHalle 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 Purpleis in theaters Dec. 25.
source: people.com
