Tina Turner Turned Down a Role in 'The Color Purple' Due to Past with Ike Turner: I 'Lived' It 'Already'

When it came to her art, Tina Turner wasn't interested in revisiting parts of her life that she'd rather leave behind.

Back in 1986, the eight-time Grammy winner — who died Wednesday after a long illness at the age of 83 — said in an interview with Italian television host Serena Dandini that she felt she'd be "dragging myself down" if she took on a major role in Steven Spielberg's 1985 film The Color Purple.

In her words, she opted out because she didn't want to sing for a film role — plus the movie felt "depressing" and "reflect(ed) too much back on [her] life with [her] ex-husband," Ike Turner.

"I’m trying to forget the past, because it’s done. It’s over. I finished that part of my life, and I’m not gonna do a part that would remind me of what I’ve lived already," said Tina.

“And I think Steve understood that I couldn’t do it for that reason, finally, after I really expressed what it was," she added.

While Tina didn't note specifically which role she turned down, the lead role of Celie eventually went to Whoopi Goldberg, who was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the film.

But according to Oprah Winfrey, Tina had been offered the role of Shug Avery, which eventually went to Margaret Avery.

"I remember hearing this from [producer] Quincy Jones years ago, that they had originally gone to Tina Turner in 1985 to ask Tina Turner to play Shug Avery," Winfrey, 69, said recently at a trailer-launch event for The Color Purple's upcoming musical film adaptation.

Winfrey — who played Sofia in the original film and will serve as a producer on the upcoming musical remake — added, "Tina Turner turned down the role of Shug Avery because she said she'd already lived it with Ike. And she was not gonna put herself through it again."

In the new version, directed by Blitz Bazawule, Fantasia Barrino plays Celie in her feature film debut, while Danielle Brooks plays Sofia among a star-studded cast that also includes Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, plus Halle Bailey, Louis Gossett Jr., Corey Hawkins, David Alan Grier, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, H.E.R., Ciara, Jon Batiste and Deon Cole.

A press release for the trailer calls the film, based on Alice Walker's 1982 novel of the same name and the Broadway musical it inspired, a "bold new take on the beloved classic" about "the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond."

At CinemaCon 2023 in April, Winfrey called overseeing the new production a "full-circle moment" that "holds great personal meaning" to her.

"The Color Purple in 1985 was the biggest and most important thing that ever happened to me and continues to be," she said onstage, adding, "Now we're doing a brand-new version that could only come because of the most perfect director," in 41-year-old Bazawule, who made his directorial debut with 2018's The Burial of Kojo.

The Color Purple is in theaters Dec. 25.