The traditional colors of the holiday season may trend toward red and green, but this season is looking a bit different as “The Color Purple” movie musical prepares to hit theaters on Christmas Day. “Ultraviolet” was the theme and mood of the film’s Los Angeles premiere on Wednesday night, as most of the cast and celebrity attendees donned shades of purple.
At the center of it all? The film’s producer, Oprah Winfrey, looking sleek in a formfitting purple jersey gown. It was the second surprising appearance by the 69-year-old in recent days; many were stunned by the “queen of all media’s” svelte look as she dazzled in violet sequins by Dolce & Gabbana while being honored at Sunday’s Academy Museum Gala.
Speculation about her slimmer silhouette has grown in recent days, especially as Winfrey is a shareholder in Weight Watchers, which recently introduced Sequence, a weight loss medication component. Discussing her recent weight loss with Entertainment Tonight, she said, “It’s not one thing, it’s everything.”
While she didn’t directly address whether interventions like Ozempic have been part of her recent transformation, Winfrey, who garnered a 1986 Oscar nomination for her supporting role as Sofia in the original film adaptation of “The Color Purple,” has long been transparent about her fluctuating weight and its emotional and professional impact. “I don’t know if there is another public person whose weight struggle has been exploited as much as mine over the years,” she told a live audience during Oprah Daily’s “The Life You Want Class: The State of Weight” panel in September. “You all have watched me diet and diet and diet,” she added, acknowledging that the process has been “a recurring thing because my body always seems to want to go back to a certain weight.”
Whatever the means, Winfrey expressed pride in her most recent slimdown. “I intend to keep it that way,” she told ET, explaining that she’d been on the treadmill earlier that day.
Winfrey’s wasn’t the only body that turned heads on Wednesday’s purple carpet. Ciara, who plays an adult Nettie in the new film and is now in the third trimester of her fourth pregnancy, celebrated her impressive baby bump at the premiere in a caped white pants ensemble by Georges Hobeika, worn with her belly exposed and adorned with gold leaf.
From big reveals to dazzling drama, there was plenty of celebratory style at “The Color Purple” premiere. See all the Black glamour in our red carpet recap, below.
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