Hollywood heartthrob Michael Ealy of Barbershop and Think Like a Man fame is admitting that co-star Taraji P. Henson once told him that he smelled.
Ealy, 49, made an appearance on the “Kelly Clarkston” morning talk show where he regaled the audience about an experience with Henson. He holds the actress in the highest regard, however, Ealy recounted how the famously blunt Henson embarrassed him on the set.
“So Taraji who I love immensely; we’re from the same hometown,” he said. “One of the coolest people you [will] ever meet and the most talented people you will ever meet — we are doing a scene in Think Like a Man Too and I [had] just had a kid. I didn’t get a chance to really, like, work out or prepare for this role and stuff.”
Therefore Ealy, who wanted to appear buff on the screen, decided to do a series of pushups before his romantic bedroom scene with Henson. However, an odor began to trickle out along with the sweating.
“Right before this scene where I’m like shirtless in the bed with her and stuff like that, I did about 250 push-ups right, not in a row … in about 20- 25 minutes while they are setting up the shot,” he said. “Like I said, I was just working my ass off to try and to pump up the muscles, get the blood flow going. That’s a trick. That’s what everybody does.”
As soon as Henson detected the odor, she spoke up.
“I was glistening and I’m laying down with her and we were in between takes, and she’s like kind of like in here, because I’m kind of on top of her. We’re just sitting there in between the take, and she says to me, she goes, ‘Hmmm, you kind of ripe,’” Ealy said.
The actor impulsively got defensive at the suggestion that his body odor was foul.
“She was like ‘Michael Ealy is not perfect.’ And I was like ‘Taraji, you saw me doing the pushups. Come on. You know what I’m going through,’ ” Ealy said.
