Fantasia Barrino is detailing the challenges she faced in the years after her “American Idol” win.
“The Color Purple” star told People magazine that “it wasn’t easy” following her success in the third season of the show in 2004.
“I lost a lot. I lost everything,” the actor and singer, who goes professionally by just Fantasia, said in an interview that appeared in last week’s issue.
She said she faced financial difficulties after winning on the popular reality show.
She also was sued by her father in 2006 for $10 million after the release of “Life Is Not a Fairy Tale” over his portrayal in her memoir.
And in 2010, she survived an overdose of aspirin and a sleep aid, which she later said was not accidental.
Fantasia aknowledged that the hardships stemmed from being “very, very green” in the entertainment industry.
“You have to become a businesswoman and you link up with great business partners, but it doesn’t have a lot to do with love. It took me a long time to figure that out,” she said.
“I didn’t know anything about contracts. I didn’t know anything about checking your money and making sure every day your stuff was where it was supposed to be. I just trusted and believed everybody that came into my life.”
The Grammy winner has previously talked about financial challenges, telling Tammi Mac on her radio show in 2019 that there are artists who “look like” they have money.
“And we smile and we come out and we put on a good show. In real life, some of them are struggling, and we don’t have it,” she said.
“I’m just now building myself back up. I lost everything twice, so ― I cook my own food, I don’t need no chef,” she said in the radio interview.
Fantasia, who described herself in the People interview as a “little girl from High Point, North Carolina,” who knew “nothing about the industry” when she won “American Idol,” spoke about the “necessary” lows she dealt with.
“I’m grateful for it. … If I did not go through that, I wouldn’t be the woman that I am today,” she told People.
Fantasia’s performance in the Blitz Bazawule-directed “The Color Purple” comes 16 years after she played Celie in the Broadway production.
She’s been nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the film version of the musical. It opened in theaters on Christmas Day.