Oprah Winfrey’s documentary will no longer be available on Apple TV+. You may be wondering why. According to a report from PageSix, Winfrey herself bought back the rights. Winfrey and the film’s director, Kevin Macdonald, reportedly clashed over the final product, with Macdonald not making the edits that were requested.
A spokesperson for Winfrey was a little more muted: “As her contract with Apple TV+ nears the end of its run, Ms. Winfrey has decided to buy back the rights to the docuseries and put the documentary on hold. Ms. Winfrey believes Lisa Elspamer and Kevin Macdonald are incredibly talented filmmakers and appreciates the time and energy they have put into the project.” Elspamer previously worked alongside Winfrey at OWN for a long time, before being fired in 2012.
Winfrey was heavily involved with Apple TV+ initially, even speaking at its launch, and signed a multi-year deal with the platform to launch shows like “The Oprah Conversation,” but the deal expires in 2022. It’s unclear how much the billionaire Winfrey had to pay to get the rights back, with some sources saying it was in the millions, while others claim it was just six figures.
