Apple TV Oprah Winfrey biodoc won’t be shown; star refunded Apple to block it

An Apple TV+ Oprah Winfrey biodoc won’t be shown after all, despite the fact that Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald completed filming.

A new report says that Winfrey refunded the sum Apple paid her for the project in order to prevent it from being aired …

Apple TV and Oprah Winfrey

Apple announced a partnership with Winfrey back in 2019, for a docuseries. That resulted in a high-profile interview with Prince Harry, and a number of other shows.

Oprah was able to create several shows for Apple TV+, such as The Me You Can’t See, The Oprah Conversation, Oprah’s Book Club, and Oprah Talks COVID-19

That partnership ended in 2022, but Apple had commissioned a two-part biographical documentary which was yet to air.

The documentary will come from Kevin MacDonald and Lisa Erspamer, the duo behind the Whitney Houston documentary Whitney. Erspamer worked with Winfrey on The Oprah Winfrey Show for a decade and [it was said] that Winfrey was a fan of the Whitney Houston documentary.

Oprah Winfrey biodoc won’t be shown

However, Page Six reports that it won’t be shown – because Winfrey has refunded Apple in order to prevent it being shown.

Oprah Winfrey paid a fortune to Apple TV+ chiefs to buy back the rights to a documentary about her life, Page Six can reveal […]

A spokesperson for Winfrey — who ended her content deal with Apple in September 2022 — confirms to Page Six, “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. 

Conflicting reports about the reasons

One source says the celebrity wasn’t happy with the final edit.

“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.

Another says this isn’t the case, though doesn’t give a plausible alternative explanation.

A source in Winfrey’s camp insists Macdonald did not refuse to make edits and that Winfrey simply decided “it wasn’t the right time to do a documentary” before making the unusual move of buying it back.

It’s unclear how much Winfrey had to pay Apple to buy back the rights, with conflicting reports also about whether or not it was measured in the millions.

Apple has not commented, and is unlikely to do so.

Photo by Julien Andrieux on Unsplash