The 6,000-person theater was packed to the rafters for Winfreys appearance, and she did not disappoint.
As most Winfrey fans know, the then-morning news host onA.M.
I didnt need a speaking role.
Credit: Paras Griffin/Getty Images
I was willing to carry the script, help people with the water.
Quincy Jones calls Reuben Cannon, the casting agent, and says I think I found Sophia.'
Going against Hollywood protocol, she called Cannon herself.
The conversation didnt go well.
Reuben says to me, You dont call me.
And I didnt call you.
Do you understand I have real actresses who have auditioned for this part.
I hung up the phone and start crying, she said Saturday.
Winfrey was convinced that she had not succeeded because of her weight.
I decide that this is because the fat has finally caught up with me.
Now I must get rid of the fat, she said to shouts from the crowd.
In two weeks Im going to go to a fat farm and Im going to lose 25 pounds.
Im going to drink a lot of green juice.
Im going to have cleanses and colonics.
It starts to rain.
Yall know how that is, Winfrey said, as she continued to jog.
I dont even care.
Im praying to God to help me let it go.
Its controlling my life.
And I keep hearing this noise.
There is nobody on the track but me.
And I look around, and its my thighs rubbing together.
Its my thighs rubbing together causing this thunderous sound.
Then I really start to cry.
And I cried, Winfrey recalled, as the crowd sang along.
Ten years, still no one knew how to pronounce my name.
I hear you are on a fat farm, Spielberg said to Winfrey.
No sir, this is a health retreat, she replied, as the crowd laughed.
I packed my bags.
I stopped at the Dairy Queen: Three scoops just in case I lost half a pound.
Next day, I was in Spielbergs office and he said, youre hired.
But thats what happened Saturday at Essence Fest:
All my life I had to fight.
I had to fight my daddy.
I had to fight my brothers.
I had to fight my cousins and my uncles.
A girl child aint safe in a family of mens.
But I never thought Id have to fight in my own house.
God knows I do.
But Ill kill him dead before I let him beat me.
