Do You Remember: Beyonce’s Master Cleanse Diet

Cayenne pepper, maple syrup, and starvation: the mid-2000s detox trend was the worst.

CONTENT WARNING: This piece discusses diet culture, disordered eating, and fatphobia.

Dreamgirls was hyped as a guaranteed Oscar winner from the moment it was greenlit. It was an adaptation of a beloved Tony-winning Broadway musical, telling the story of a girlband whose rise and troubles heavily echoed that of The Supremes. The music was iconic, with at least one barn-storming solo number that would set the theatres alight. Oscar-winning director Bill Condon was brought on board and a murderer’s row of talent filled out the cast: Recent Oscar winner Jamie Foxx, the legendary Eddie Murphy taking on a rare serious role, Tony nominee Anika Noni Rose, American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson, and the one and only Beyoncé.

At this point in her career, Beyoncé was not yet Beyoncé. She was popular and had acclaim in her corner but she was still on her way to becoming the megastar who would redefine pop stardom with that untouchable Perfect image. In the mid-2000s, she was still doing stuff like sit-down interviews with Oprah and advertising for Nintendo. She had previously sung at the Oscars but not her own song (it was one from The Phantom of the Opera and she sang with some dude dressed as the Phantom on-stage and it is amazing. Go watch it.) Signing onto Dreamgirls suggested that Beyoncé was eager to have a multihyphenate career moving between mediums, not unlike Diana Ross, who is a Best Actress nominee, or Whitney Houston. And she took the role of Deena Jones, the Diana Ross stand-in, very seriously.

(Image via Paramount/DreamWorks.)

Beyoncé lobbied hard for the role and won it after a screen test. She talked a lot about wanting to do Deena justice and to be accurate in her depiction of the character, who the film follows over the course of 13 years. to depict Deena’s development from youthful girlband member to a polished and bona fide diva, Beyoncé decided to lose weight during the production. To do this, she underwent the Master Cleanse. In two weeks, she said, she lost 20 pounds.