“The Color Purple” Broadway star wants royalties for new movie's song lyrics
LaChanze, who won a Tony for playing Celie in "The Color Purple" on stage, tweeted that she wanted money for lyrics she claimed to have added to "I'm Here."
Tony Award-winning actress LaChanze — who originated the role of Celie in The Color Purple on Broadway — claimed that she was not paid for her self-reported contributions to the lyrics of the new musical movie's show-stopping number "I'm Here."
"I am getting a lot of DM’s and posts about why I’ve been left out of the press as the original Celie in the [The Color Purple] (musical). I am thrilled for the movie’s success! Happy for all involved," the 62-year-old tweeted Tuesday. "However, I do want my royalty fee for the lyrics I added to 'I’M HERE.'"
The performer did not elaborate on the lyrics she says she added to the song — which serves as an emotional proclamation of independence for Celie (Fantasia Barrino) in the movie — but later responded to a fan's tweet by saying that she poured her "heart and soul" into the role of Celie beginning in 2005, and reiterated that she "was a huge part at writing 'I'm Here'" for the stage production.
According to the "I'm Here" credits on Spotify, LaChanze is not credited as a contributor on the song alongside songwriters Allee Willis, Brenda Russell, and Stephen Bray.
EW has reached out to LaChanze as well as Warner Bros. for comment.
Arturo Holmes/Getty; Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
LaChanze; Fantasia Barrino in 'The Color Purple'LaChanze initially won a Tony for playing Celie on Broadway, with Barrino joining a wealth of other actresses who took on the part on stage following LaChanze's departure from the production, also including Cynthia Erivo and Adrianna Hicks. Barrino eventually reprised the role in director Blitz Bazawule's big-screen adaptation of the musical, which also welcomed supporting actress Danielle Brooks back to The Color Purple family in the role of Sofia, which she first portrayed in the 2015 Broadway revival.
Based on Alice Walker's 1982 novel of the same name, The Color Purple follows Celie as she struggles to reconnect with her long-lost sister, Nettie, amid her marriage to an abusive man. Steven Spielberg first adapted the book into the Oscar-nominated 1985 movie starring Whoopi Goldberg as Celie and Oprah Winfrey as Sofia — both of whom returned to work on the 2023 production, with Goldberg making a cameo toward the beginning of the movie, and Winfrey producing the project alongside Spielberg.
In addition to positive critical reviews and awards buzz for Brooks' performance in particular, the new Color Purple made over $18 million at the domestic box office on opening day, ranking as the second-highest Christmas Day haul in movie history.
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