BreAnna Bell Fantasia Barrino spoke about the need to persevere through adversity at Variety‘s Power of Women Presented by Lifetime. “I’ve been through some things I haven’t been afraid to share,” Barrino said in her speech at the event on Thursday. “Sometimes we don’t want to share what we go through, but I knew that my tests were part of my testimony, and I knew that my testimony would help a lot of people.” Barrino also spoke about her role in the upcoming musical film adaptation of “The Color Purple,” in which she will portray Celie, a role she previously played on Broadway.