While promoting her new film, “The Color Purple,” actress Taraji P. Henson broke down in tears when discussing the film industry and unfair pay.
The 53-year-old Emmy-nominated actress appeared on SiriusXM with Gayle King, where she admitted she has hit her breaking point in Hollywood.
“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson said. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired.”
Taraji P. Henson Breaks Down In Tears
“I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ Well, I have to. The math ain’t math-ing,” she added. “When you start working a lot, you have a team. Big bills come with what we do. We don’t do this alone. It’s a whole team behind us. They have to get paid.”
Taraji P. Henson continued:
“When you hear someone go, ‘Such and such made $10 million,’ that didn’t make it to their account. Off the top, Uncle Sam is getting 50%. Now have $5 million. Your team is getting 30% off what you gross, not after what Uncle Same took. Now do the math. I’m only human. Every time I do something and 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 tired. I’m tired. It wears on you. What does that mean? What is that telling me? If I can’t fight for them coming up behind me then what the fuck am I doing?”
The actress then broke down in tears when discussing how tired she is of “hearing the same thing.”
“Twenty-plus years in the game and I hear the same thing and I see what you do for another production but when it’s time to go to bat for us they don’t have enough money,” she said, adding “And I’m just supposed to smile and grin and bear it. Enough is enough! That’s why I have other [brands] because this industry, if you let it, it will steal your soul. I refuse to let that happen.”
Taraji P. Henson Discusses ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ Pay
This is not the first time Taraji P. Henson has discussed the pay in the film industry, as in 2019, she admitted she was offered $100,000 to star opposite Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the hit movie, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,”
Henson was able to negotiate her salary to $150,000 but later revealed that was not even close to the $500,000 she was expecting.
“I want to make this very clear – I’m not saying that Brad or Cate shouldn’t have gotten what they got,” Henson told Variety at the time.
“They put asses in seats, so give them their money. They deserve it. I’m not saying they shouldn’t get what they’re getting. I was just asking for half a million – that’s all. That’s it. When I was doing ‘Benjamin Button,’ I wasn’t worth a million yet. My audience was still getting to know me. We thought we were asking for what was fair for me, at the time.”
“I asked for half a million. That’s it,” the actress added. “And they gave me $100,000. Does that make sense? I’m number three on the call sheet. Does that make sense to you? All I was asking was $500,000 – that’s all we were asking for.”
The role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.