Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson began crying as she said she is seriously considering retiring from Hollywood due to chronic underpayment and mistreatment in the industry.
Henson, 53, started breaking down when she talked about her award-winning yet very arduous career and being chronically underpaid. She boasts an illustrious portfolio of dynamic roles, including those in movies and TV shows such as Baby Boy, Hidden Figures, Think Like a Man, “Empire,” What Men Want, Acrimony, Karate Kid, No Good Deed, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — the latter which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Yet, Henson lamented to Gayle King on Sirius XM radio the fact she still had to audition for the role in The Color Purple because the Hollywood studios did not want her in the movie.
“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost,” the D.C.-born actress said as she paused to gather her emotions.
“I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, ‘You work a lot!’ I have to. The math ain’t mathin’. And when you start working a lot, you know you have a team. Big bills come with what we do, we don’t do this alone. The fact that we’re up here, there’s a whole entire team behind us. They have to get paid.”
I feel this. DEEP. And I ain’t even at her level.
When I say I’m tired, this is EXACTLY what I mean. pic.twitter.com/8rTwsjqH25
— Jon Paul, Ed.D. (They/Them/Tired)🏳️🌈 (@DoctorJonPaul) December 20, 2023
“When you hear someone say, ‘Oh, such-and-such made $10 million,’ no, that didn’t make it to their account,”she said.
Henson broke down how taxes and paying the team behind her significantly shrinks the amount she actually brings home.
“I’m only human, and it seems every time I try to do something and I break another glass ceiling, when it’s time to renegotiate, I’m at the bottom again like I never did what I just did, and I’m just tired,” she added before breaking down again. “And if I can’t fight for them coming up behind me, then what the f— am I doing?”
Listen to the entire segment below:
The three main actresses in The Color Purple — Henson, Fantasia Barrino-Taylor, and Danielle Brooks — talked about how “the world will turn their backs” on Black women “every time,” and how Henson counseled the other two on getting their deserved bag.
