Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg have been speculated to have feuded throughout their careers, before going on stage at this year’s Oscars.

Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg

Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg reportedly seemed to have a tiff during the Oscars this year. The duo went on stage to pay tribute to the departed musician and producer Quincy Jones.

While giving their introductory speech, viewers pointed out online that some hostility seemed to exist between the two stalwart media personalities.

Winfrey and Goldberg, who starred together in The Color Purple, have been speculated to be feuding for many years. While neither of them has specified why, the two have constantly denied the feud ever happened and even once seemingly buried the hatchet on Oprah Winfrey’s show.

Why did Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg feud at the Oscars?

Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey at the Oscars
Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey | Credits: ABC

Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg both had their breakthrough with Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple.

Goldberg even received an Oscar nomination for her role in the film, and Winfrey went on to headline her incredibly popular The Oprah Winfrey Show after her role in the film.

When the duo walked on stage to pay tribute to producer Quincy Jones, amidst other praises, Winfrey mentioned that she was first discovered by Jones for the film The Color Purple and there was no looking back from there.

Goldberg also replied with “Me too”, which many viewers noted seemed to annoy Winfrey.

Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey in a film

Goldberg’s response also reportedly elicited laughter from the crowd, thus prompting Winfrey’s hostile response.

Whoopi Goldberg would go on to win the Academy Award for Ghost and has also attained EGOT status, i.e. she has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. Winfrey on the other hand has gone on to become one of the most popular TV personalities in the world.

Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg reportedly ended their feud over 15 years ago

Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey on stage

Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg’s feud did not start at this year’s Oscars but has reportedly been widely speculated for decades now. The duo have rarely been seen with each other since The Color Purple and many speculated that there was hostility between the two Black artists who are so important for their community.

The duo seemingly put these rumors to rest when Goldberg appeared on a Color Purple reunion in The Oprah Show. Goldberg reportedly asked Winfrey if she had done anything to her, to which Winfrey replied (via People),

I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ [Whoopi] says, ‘All these years, you know, we’ve been disconnected and I just want to know, did I do something?’ I said, ‘All these years I thought you were mad at me.’…So I thought, you think I’m mad at you? I thought you were mad at me. What was that?

Goldberg had reportedly never attended Oprah Winfrey’s show for twenty years before that moment and the two seemed to bury the hatchet.