Oprah Winfrey has reclaimed the rights to a documentary about her, produced by Apple, effectively preventing its release, according to sources close to the media mogul.
According to Page Six, the American talk show personality paid Apple TV + executives a substantial sum of money to reclaim the rights to a documentary about her life.
With much hoopla, Apple said in 2021 that Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald would be helming the documentary about Winfrey who became a media billionaire.
The outlet has learnt from insiders that Macdonald, who collaborated on the project with Winfrey’s long-time producer Lisa Erspamer, had disagreements with the 70-year-old mogul after completing the movie, and that’s why it was put on hold.
“Kevin made the film, but Oprah didn’t like it and he refused to change it, and Oprah has paid back her fee to Apple,” the source stated.
A spokesperson for Winfrey — who ended her content deal with Apple in September 2022, shared,, “As the Apple TV+ deal was coming to an end, Ms. Winfrey bought back the rights to her docu-series and has since decided to put the doc on hold.”
The tipster claimed, “Ms. Winfrey believes Lisa Erspamer and Kevin MacDonald are incredibly talented filmmakers and is grateful for the time and energy they put into the project.”
According to a source close to Winfrey, Macdonald did not decline to make adjustments; rather, Winfrey decided that “it wasn’t the right time to do a documentary” before taking the unprecedented step of purchasing the film back.
Notably, the source refuted industry rumours that Winfrey would need to pay millions to get the rights to the documentary.
