The cast of The Color Purple did not have good working conditions on set until Oprah Winfrey stepped in, reports The Daily Beast.

Golden Globe-winning actress Taraji P. Henson and Grammy-winning actress Danielle Brooks "said they faced an uphill battle to get facilities such as dressing rooms and security during production," the magazine reported. Brooks revealed during a Q&A with the "The Color Purple" cast on Friday that she was stunned that the cast was initially forced to share a dressing room: "I remember when we were doing rehearsals, we were all put in the same space and we didn't have our own dressing rooms at the time," she She recounted, adding that they were not even given food.

Henson, who nearly had to leave the film due to dissatisfaction over salary negotiations and working conditions, added: "They loaned me a rental car, and I was like, 'I can't drive myself to the set in Atlanta.' ' This is an insurance liability, and it's dangerous. This is an insurance liability, and it's dangerous. So I said, 'Can you get a driver or a security guard to take me?' I'm not moonlighting. They said, 'If we're going to do it for you, we have to do it for everybody. Then do it for everyone else. That's the kind of thing I don't have to fight for. I was on the set of Empire fighting for a trailer that wasn't infested with bugs."

Not only was the paycheck an issue, but Henson was forced to audition for the role of Shug Avery despite being director Blitz Bazaure's No. 1 choice, the success of "Empire," and an Academy Award nomination. He said, "I fight hard to establish my name and be respected in this city, but to no avail. With black films, they don't want us out there. Blacks are being translated all over the world, so why aren't our films being translated? I have fans in China. They don't want to take advantage of that. People don't want to make money here. I am not one to play the race card every time, but what else is there? I prefer not to be racial. Tell me something else."

So, with all the problems on set, Henson spoke up about it and contacted the film's producer, Oprah Winfrey. Brooks called Henson his "guide" on the set and "our voice box." Winfrey] fixed it for us," Brooks said. Henson was our voice." This was my first studio film. Sometimes I would say, 'Okay, I'll take whatever they give me. I'm just happy to be here. But (Henson) spoke up for us. He showed us how to do that."

Both Henson and Brooks give credit to Winfrey for stepping in to help, but they also say that things should never have gotten that far. When it became known that the cast had not been backstage or fed at rehearsals, Henson called Winfrey and told the producer, "We have to work this out." Eventually everything was worked out, but it was an uphill battle for a while," TMZ reported, adding that Henson is a Golden Globe-winning and Academy Award-nominated actress.

"What else do you have to do to prove your worth?" Henson said. 'I signed and danced for you, my knees were wobbly, I climbed on the table 88 times, and I had to ice my knees between takes.'

To add insult to injury, of course, Henson and Winfrey were rumored to be at odds and feuding with each other (which is a very clichéd and tired story at this point). Winfrey shot that down on Instagram for Entertainment Weekly: "I've admired Taraji for a long time. She can make you laugh, make you cry, cheer, and feel everything in between." But I didn't know she could sing. Actress Taraji: Power. Taraji the Singer "is a complete revelation."

Henson similarly praised Winfrey, especially her ability to right wrongs on the set of The Color Purple." Henson wrote that "Miss Oprah is nothing short of a steady and solid beacon of light for the entire cast of The Color Purple."" She has provided encouragement, guidance, and unwavering support to all of us." Henson added. Henson added, "She told me personally to contact her for anything I needed: one phone call ..... .one conversation ...... And one determined black woman made me feel heard."

Feeling heard was something that was missing from Henson's experience in Hollywood. She said, "My prayer is that the work and the fight and the struggle will be easier for them [Black women]. 'I don't want to hear her talk about the same things that I and my sisters have been fighting for years. If I am not in a position to make it better for those who come behind me, what am I doing?" [Black actresses being underpaid and undervalued on set has been going on as long as Hollywood has existed, and I applaud Henson for speaking up. She said, "I'm sick and tired of working hard, doing my job with grace, and getting paid a pittance. 'Every time I do something and break the glass ceiling again, when it comes time to renegotiate, I'm back at the bottom. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of it. What does that mean? If I can't fight for them coming from behind, what the hell am I doing?"

The Hollywood Reporter reported this weekend that Winfrey is targeting the bestseller The Covenant of Water as her next film project, and one of her book club selections She revealed plans to adapt Abraham Verghese's novel into a film. However, even Winfrey, who is as influential as she is, admits that "it would take a lot of time to get it done because it is also a story about people of color."

The plot revolves around an Indian family that loses at least one person in each generation to drowning. Although the book has been a bestseller, the subject matter is difficult. There's nothing in it that we can sell," Winfrey said. 'We can't make dolls, and there's no product that can be produced from them. So I'm in the space of finding and creating stories as an offering to the world, to show the world who we are, and especially, not just exclusively, but especially to people of color, so that they can see themselves in the best light they can reflect." [Hollywood - you can do better. We can all do better.