Desreta Jackson Dishes On Filming “The Color Purple”

Jenae Thompson |

Mar 18, 2021

March is Woman’s History Month and we cannot think of a movie that embodies the power and resilience of women better than The Color Purple! Lucky for us, we got to chat with Desreta Jackson who starred in the movie as Young Celie!

Behind-the-Scenes Tea

Although you’d NEVER know it from her performance, The Color Purple was Desreta’s first time acting! Imagine having never filmed a movie before and all of a sudden finding yourself on a set with Steven Spielberg behind the camera?!? #NoPressure! We got to play some of our fav clips from the movie for Desreta and she gave us ALL of the juicy behind-the-scenes tea!

Our very own PopViewers got in on the action as well! App user, Ryan O’Connor, asked Desreta what sort of process was built in for her and Whoopi Goldberg to co-exist within the same character. Naturally, Ryan also wanted to know details about what it was like on the Sister Act set!

Life After Celie

We were struck by Desreta’s vulnerability and bravery when she opened up to us about being raped shortly after she finished filming The Color Purple. With so many insults hurled at Celie throughout the movie, we were curious about what sort of toll that would have taken on a young actress. We were dismayed to learn that the first time those comments ever truly affected Desreta was after she was assaulted in real life.

It is nothing short of devastating to hear Desreta describe the sort of mental anguish that being raped caused in her life. Although sexual assault is trauma that you never fully let go of, we were happy to hear that Desreta is in a better place now and grateful that she can use her platform to speak to other survivors and encourage them to share their stories.

What’s Next

Although she wasn’t allowed to reveal too much just yet, Desreta also gave us the scoop that she has some major film projects in the works. Oh, btw… did we mention that she is a CEO?!? After filming The Color Purple, Desreta started doing hair and now has her own hair product line, Blacksilk. With over 30 years of experience in the beauty industry, you just KNOW that these products are on POINT!

We had to know whether or not people who came to Desreta for their hair knew that she was Young Celie from The Color Purple. It turns out that the person who finally “outed” Desreta was none other than Oprah Winfrey!!! #casual

Chatting with Desreta was SUCH a joy and we cannot wait to see what this powerhouse has planned next! If you’ve never watched The Color Purple drop EVERYTHING and do so now! (And be sure to leave a reaction on PopViewers!)

Check out our full conversation with Desreta Jackson below!