Just days before Tina Turner‘s passing, Oprah Winfrey shared a previously unknown story about her good friend at the trailer launch for The Color Purple remake.
Turner, who died yesterday (May 24) at age 83, was known for her incredible music career, but she also dabbled in film. And according to Winfrey, she nearly starred in an ’80s classic.
“I remember hearing this from Quincy Jones years ago, that they had originally gone to Tina Turner in 1985 to ask Tina Turner to play Shug Avery,” Winfrey said, per Entertainment Weekly. Jones was a producer on the 1985 classic.
“Tina Turner turned down the role of Shug Avery because she said she’d already lived it with Ike,” she revealed, referring to Turner’s abusive ex-husband. “And she was not gonna put herself through it again.”
The role of Shug Avery eventually went to Margaret Avery, who received an Academy Award nomination for her performance. Avery starred alongside Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover in the Steven Spielberg film.
Tina was outspoken about the domestic violence she endured while being married to Ike, whom she worked with in their band, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue. The couple married in 1962, and in 1968, BBC reports, she attempted suicide.
“I was insanely afraid of that man,” she later told People.
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“I was living a life of death. I didn’t exist,” she said. “But I survived it. And when I walked out, I walked. And I didn’t look back.”
Winfrey remembered her good friend after her passing in a touching social media post that showed the duo over the years.
“Once she claimed her freedom from years of domestic abuse, her life became a clarion call for triumph,” Winfrey wrote. “I’m grateful for her courage, for showing us what victory looks like wearing Manolo’s and a leather miniskirt.”
Tina died after experiencing a series of health issues in her later years, including kidney failure and a stroke.
“She once shared with me that when her time came to leave this earth, she would not be afraid, but excited and curious,” Winfrey wrote of the late performer. “Because she had learned how to LIVE surrounded by her beloved husband, Erwin, and friends.”
If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 988.
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