Debra Winger says she quit A League of Their Own because of Madonna casting

Debra Winger is not holding back about why she exited A League of Their Own.

The Oscar-nominated actress was set to star as Dottie Hinson in the now-beloved 1992 baseball movie, even training with the Chicago Cubs for three months to prepare for the role. But after director Penny Marshall cast Madonna as Mae Mordabito, Winger felt the filmmaker was making "an Elvis film."

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

She added, "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?'"

Winger also told the outlet that the actresses in the film, apart from Lori Petty, didn't train long enough to look believable. Geena Davis, who took over Winger's role, "did OK," she conceded, adding, "I certainly don't begrudge any of them."

And it doesn't seem like Winger has changed her mind about Madonna's acting ability: "I think [her] acting career has spoken for itself," she said of the pop star.

Winger has scored Oscar nods for her roles in An Officer and a Gentleman, Terms of Endearment, and Shadowlands. She currently appears in the new Apple TV+ series Mr. Corman, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Last year, it was announced that A League of Their Own would be getting a TV reboot from Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television. Broad City's Abbi Jacobson will star and executive produce. Rosie O'Donnell, who acted in the original movie, will also be a part of the reboot.

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