During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Oprah revealed that there was a lot of pressure to cast Beyoncé or Rihanna for The Color Purple.

“To be completely honest about it, if you were doing this film for $30 or $40 million, the interest in the cast would be very different. Once the film moved to $90 to $100 million, then everybody wants us to bring Beyoncé,” the TV host said. “‘Can you get Beyoncé or can you get Rihanna?’ So we’re sitting in a room saying, ‘Listen, we love Beyoncé. We love Rihanna, but there are other actors who can do this job.’”

Oprah serves as the producer of The Color Purple, alongside Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones. The musical drama film is set to be released in theaters on Monday, Dec. 25.