Oprah Winfrey pays massive sum to prevent release of Apple documentary about her life

Oprah Winfrey

World-renowned American host and TV producer Oprah Winfrey has reportedly paid a large sum to secure back the rights of a documentary made on her life She paid Apple TV to prevent the release of the documentary in public domains. She feels that the time is not right for it to be made public.

Back in 2021, a documentary on the life of noted American personality Oprah Winfrey was announced with much fanfare. It was announced that the documentary would be directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald. The new doc will chronicle 25 years of American history through the lens of one show and one woman who rose from humble roots to become a globally famous talk show host, producer, actress and philanthropist.

According to a report in Page Six, Macdonald who had teamed with Winfrey's longtime producer Lisa Erspamer on the documentary had clashed with the 70-year-old billionaire after the film was ready. It has been on hold ever since. Erspamer produced "The Oprah Winfrey Show" between 1999 and 2009 and is a longtime pal of the presenter.

The report stated that Oprah did not like the film made by Kevin. When the filmmaker refused to make changes to the film, Winfrey paid back her fee to Apple to secure the rights to the documentary.

Winfrey's content deal with Apple came to an end in September 2022. Apple and Winfrey's Harpo had inked a multi-year deal in 2018 which included 'The Oprah Conversation', 'Oprah's Book Club' and 'Oprah Talks COVID-19', all of which are currently streaming on the platform. After the end of the deal, she paid the platform to get the rights of her film.

A spokesperson for Winfrey said, "As the Apple TV+ deal was coming to an end, Ms. Winfrey bought back the rights to her docuseries and has since decided to put the doc on hold.

"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."

However, Page Six also attributed a source from Winfrey's camp who said that Macdonald did not refuse to make edits and that the host just decided that it wasn't the right time to do a documentary.