Debra Winger quit ‘A League of Their Own’ because of Madonna

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Debra Winger has shared why she says Geena Davis replaced her in the 1992 film “A League of Their Own.”

In an interview with The Telegraph, Winger says she left the Penny Marshall directed film about a pioneering group of women baseball players following the addition of Madonna to the cast.

And while Winger trained for three months with the Chicago Cubs to prepare for the role, she said the hiring of the singer turned it into “an Elvis film” and not the film she had agreed to do.

“The studio agreed with me because it was the only time I ever collected a pay-or-play on my contract,” Winger told the publication. “In other words, I collected my pay even though I did not play, and that’s very hard to get in a court.”

Winger also said that after meeting the real-life players on whom the film was based, she didn’t think the movie honored them

“As entertaining as [the final film] was, you don’t walk away going ‘Wow, those women did that.’ You kind of go ‘Is that true?,'” she said.

In terms of Davis’ performance in the film — in the role Winger was set to play — Winger said she believes Davis “did OK” and said of the cast “I certainly don’t begrudge any of them.”

When it comes to Madonna, Winger said “I think [her] acting career has spoken for itself.”

CNN has reached out to reps for Madonna for comment.

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