AceShowbiz -

Gaining her prominence as the winner of the third season of the television series "American Idol" in 2004, Fantasia Barrino has been invading the world of performing, taking over the Broadway stage. Portraying the critically acclaimed Celie in the musical, "The Color Purple," it is sad to say that she was forced to take hiatus following doctor's diagnosis that she had tumor on her throat.

About that she openly told Sister 2 Sister magazine, "I couldn't get enough sleep and sometimes onstage, I could taste blood ... every now and then. They (producers) would send me to the hospitals and they would say, 'Well, she's dehydrated; that's what's making her tired.' They would put IVs in me. But it just wasn't enough." Realizing that there might be something wrong with her throat, she eventually checked into a top throat doctor in Los Angeles, who then told her that she had tumor on her throat.

Recalling the dark moment, the singer said "I went into surgery and he (doctor) came out and told my mother it was a tumor." Battling to stay healthy following the surgery, Fantasia admitted that she often felt drained and too tired to perform. That's why she decided to pull out of "The Color Purple."

Regaining her health ever since, Fantasia however is hurt by all the negative publicity addressed to her for pulling out of the show. "It really hurt my feelings ... I told my manager, 'Please, somebody protect me,' because I've never missed a show ... I like to perform," so she revealed. "I felt like, after I had my surgery, nobody knew about it. The Color Purple didn't know about it, my record company didn't know about it, and I was very hurt that ... I wasn't receiving any flowers, any balloons."

Fantasia sparked speculation that she's pregnant when she pulled out of "The Color Purple" early this year with no explanation. Her publicist simply told the media that Fantasia was unwell. Her withdrawal from the show reportedly forced the producers to give back tens of thousands of dollars in refunds.