Media queen Oprah Winfrey has bought back the rights to a two-part Apple TV+ documentary, ensuring that the documentary will never be streamed or aired unless she decides to do so herself.
Apple TV+ in 2021 announced the documentary, which was headed by Kevin MacDonald and Lisa Erspamer, saying it would tell the story of 25 years of Winfrey’s life.
Page Six reports Oprah has bought back the rights to the documentary from Apple TV+ after its completion.
However, sources tell Page Six that Macdonald, who teamed up with Winfrey’s longtime producer Lisa Erspamer on the project, had clashed with the 70-year-old billionaire after he finished the film, and it’s been on hold ever since.
“Kevin made the film, but Oprah didn’t like it and he refused to change it, and Oprah has paid back her fee to Apple,” a well-placed Hollywood source tells us.
This makes it sound as if the documentary may not have been totally flattering to the media mogul, although another source said it had nothing to do with the content, and that Winfrey simply thought it “wasn’t the right time to do a documentary.”
While buying back the rights to the documentary couldn’t have been cheap, sources cannot agree on what the exact price was. One source says Oprah paid millions to Apple TV+ for the rights, another claims the payment was not in the seven-figure range.
While Apple and Oprah have worked on a few projects in the past, including a book club and content for Apple TV+, the pair ended their relationship in 2022.
Buying back the rights likely cost a pretty penny, but sources can’t agree on how much that may have cost. One says Oprah
