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[Purple Moon]

Before things started to click for Taraji P. Henson, she sought career counseling from the man upstairs.

"I had a talk with God a long time ago when things didn't pop," she said. Invoking the women she had watched as a child, like Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, Bette Davis, and Diahann Carroll, she told him, "I want longevity and work that matters."

This, Henson has had: At 53, she is an Oscar-nominated actress with a long career that includes films like "Hidden Figures," "Hustle & Flow" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." She also spent six seasons playing the music-industry matriarch Cookie on the Fox series "Empire," a juicy role that netted her a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award.

But she is candid about the frustrations she still faces in an industry that undervalues Black actresses. "The fact that I made it through is a blessing because a lot has happened," she said, noting that she had to step away from work last year when things got to be too much. A monthlong trip to Bali helped to recenter her, as did attending to her successful beauty brand, TPH.


"I have a brand now, so I have other things to pay the bills," she said. "Because the way I'm getting paid in Hollywood, I sure won't be retiring off these sorry checks."

In mid-December, I met Henson at a hotel restaurant in Beverly Hills to discuss "The Color Purple," a new big-screen take on the Alice Walker novel, inspired by the stage musical and directed by Blitz Bazawule. In the film, Henson plays the fabulous and well-feathered blues singer Shug Avery, whose confidence inspires abused Celie (Fantasia Barrino-Taylor) to find her own voice and even, for a potent moment between the two women, to know love.

Henson had been offered the same role when "The Color Purple" was on Broadway but turned it down for fear of how demanding the production would be: "Eight shows a week, and Shug sings gospel, blues and jazz — that's a lot." She still found the material daunting when signing on to the new film, but it thrilled her to push through that fear to make the character her own, drawing inspiration from close to home.

"Whenever you seeing me playing these Southern women, know that I'm my grandma," Henson said. "My grandmother's still very much a lady with her pearls and her clothes, and she's very conscious of how she looks when she goes out still: She goes to the salon and gets her hair done, gets her nails done. And she raised nine children on a sharecropper's income!"

Henson is proud of the work she put into the film, but she had to fight to get cast and be paid her worth, and her spirit is still sapped from all that negotiating. She noted that at least she had one of the producers of "The Color Purple," Oprah Winfrey, in her corner, but these are battles she's had to wage alone too often.

"It hurts my feelings when it's not reciprocated, but I know this world is cold and nobody really cares, and you got to go out and fight for what you want," she said. "What else do I need to do to prove my worth? Now that I'm singing and dancing for you, and I climbed up on the table 88 times with my knobby knees and had to ice my knees in between takes, what else do I need to do?"

But one of the lessons of "The Color Purple" is that even when things feel so stacked against you, sisterhood can help you move forward. I've seen the way your co-stars Fantasia and Danielle Brooks talk about you and cheer for you. They're in your corner.

I didn't tell them, but a lot of the stuff on that set, they got because I fought.

What did you fight for?

They gave us rental cars, and I was like, "I can't drive myself to set in Atlanta." This is insurance liability, it's dangerous. Now they robbing people. What do I look like, taking myself to work by myself in a rental car? So I was like, "Can I get a driver or security to take me?" I'm not asking for the moon. They're like, "Well, if we do it for you, we got to do it for everybody." Well, do it for everybody! It's stuff like that, stuff I shouldn't have to fight for. I was on the set of "Empire" fighting for trailers that wasn't infested with bugs.


It wears on your soul because you fight so hard to establish a name for yourself and be respected in this town to no avail. With Black films, they just don't want to take us overseas and I don't understand that. Black translates all over the world, so why wouldn't the movies? I have a following in China of all places. Y'all not going to capitalize on that? Don't everybody want to make money here? I'm not the person that pulls the race card every time, but what else is it, then? Tell me. I'd rather it not be race, please give me something else.


How do you maintain your vulnerability as an actress when dealing with things that could harden you?
When I felt my light dim, that's when I ran to Bali. It was like I wasn't myself. I'm the one that's usually looking at the brighter side, a consummate optimist. That's how I've been my entire life, that's what got me here. Sure, I've been in some [messed-up] situations, but I never let life make me jaded or bitter, and I started feeling like that. That's when I was like, yeah, let me go take care of myself because I'm letting this thing consume me.

I always want to be this shining example of how you age in this business and show grace to those coming up, so I had to go work on myself because I was becoming tired of the fight. I thought maybe I'd just quit, but then I have Danielle and Fantasia saying, "If you quit, then what about us?" I know that they appreciate it. They know how hard I fight, and they're like, "You taught me so much." I don't want them to have this conversation. I'm tired of Black women having this conversation, and I'll be glad when it's a different conversation we're having.
So I guess I can't quit just yet. I said all of that, just to say I can't quit.

Full article here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/movies/taraji-p-henson-the-color-purple.html

[Summertime]

I like Taraji so hope things get better for her this year.
She has been candid about her depression and the darkness of la/Hollywood been weighing her down.
It was really smart for her to start her hair company and get into producing.
Been noticing a lot of actresses are really getting into their entrepreneur bag within the past 10 years to offset the pay gap and not waiting around for role offers to support them financially.

For instance, Reese Witherspoon and her book club and buying book movie rights, a lot of them are creating lifestyle companies, etc.
Creating opportunities instead of waiting for a role and the correct pay is essential.
The story about WB giving the cast and maybe crew rental cars is wild. Which highlights even more why more actresses are really creating their own opportunities.

[stillpretty]

Crazy that she had to drive herself to set

Is it that big of a deal just to get her a black car mess

My heart goes out to those in entertainment . That's a big reason why I'm so easy on GHan

Pennies for so much fuckin work and nonsense. You HAVE to be passionate about it

im worried about taraji. she really seems to be going through it.
mo'nique had her husband to lean on as she fought certain battles, hopefully taraji has someone strong in her corner.

[Ulysses]

I can't believe they made her drive to work. How dare? I would never drive to work on my own.

[I. Hate. Monica.]

I'm sure she's using her white counterparts as an example. There's no reason she should be driving herself

[DopeSoul.]

I bet oprah fake ass ain't drive herself to set

[Justaway_]

overrated actress

[BruceTruMusicFan]

I like the way Taraji only talks about the inequalities, as opposed to Monique's approach of complaining about the "free" promotional requirements of the job. It seems that Taraji understands the business side and even wants to promote her films beyond what she has to in order to exceed projections. Where she and Monique find common ground is in the fact that, regardless of what they have done, are doing or will do, their pay will never equal that of white women and men.

However, the issue isn't just the pay; it's the racial bias in America. They can protest this all day, but the stark reality is that white audiences prefer to do business with, consume art from and buy products from people who look like them. We've seen them enjoy Black music, but they  don't purchase albums at the same rate they do white artists unless the artist is exceptionally talented and very palatable ie Whitney & Michael.

Where Taraji and Monique mess up is that they center themselves. Taraji is doing a better job than Monique including all Black actresses however this is an issue with Black women in ALL fields. She need to include all working Black women in order to gain the support she really needs.

[stillpretty]

However, the issue isn't just the pay; it's the racial bias in America. They can protest this all day, but the stark reality is that white audiences prefer to do business with, consume art from and buy products from people who look like them. We've seen them enjoy Black music, but they  don't purchase albums at the same rate they do white artists unless the artist is exceptionally talented and very palatable ie Whitney & Michael.

this.

we are still in a predominately white-country at the end of the day.

i think because we are so into our own world as black folks, we kinda forget we're a minority

i definitely forget sometimes. im almost shocked any time that i'm reminded we only make up 13% of Americas population.

but there are definitely instances where we're intentionally shortchanged in many industries.

i think entertainment is harder to fight in than regular degular corporate america because because its one industry that's allowed to be openly bias.

like, they're allowed to look for "white female, 30s, blond hair" or "black male, 20s" - all based on what the movie script calls for.

whereas in regular degular corporate america, they'd be in trouble for doing that openly. that in itself leaves a lot of room for more mess.

it's a tough battle ahead for black actors for so many reasons but im rooting for them.

the mess they tried to give Mo'Nique for her Netflix special...500K (which is really 250K after taxes), and then requesting that she not perform certain things for two years after the special....that was definitely a fucked up/unreasonable proposal.

[Summertime]

I like the way Taraji only talks about the inequalities, as opposed to Monique's approach of complaining about the "free" promotional requirements of the job. It seems that Taraji understands the business side and even wants to promote her films beyond what she has to in order to exceed projections. Where she and Monique find common ground is in the fact that, regardless of what they have done, are doing or will do, their pay will never equal that of white women and men.

However, the issue isn't just the pay; it's the racial bias in America. They can protest this all day, but the stark reality is that white audiences prefer to do business with, consume art from and buy products from people who look like them. We've seen them enjoy Black music, but they  don't purchase albums at the same rate they do white artists unless the artist is exceptionally talented and very palatable ie Whitney & Michael.

Where Taraji and Monique mess up is that they center themselves. Taraji is doing a better job than Monique including all Black actresses however this is an issue with Black women in ALL fields. She need to include all working Black women in order to gain the support she really needs.

You make a good point that Taraji is handling this better than Monique because she understands the business side.
The fact that Taraji has done several firings of her team over the years adds to her knowing the business side.
Doing more than studio required promo can lead to more business opportunities which is why so many actors will do a solo press run for every project.

The fact that her agent, lawyer, and the Lede Company all top in their fields allowed her to accept the NYT interview maybe is leading to a well organized initiative push by Taraji on an overall spotlight of black women getting underpaid across all industries.
The Lede Company is really good and a top communications company so I really think there is a strategy this time around with Taraji bringing up the unequal pay and accommodations.

[Ulysses]

I think her interviews would be sounding different if this movie wasn't UNDER performing 

[stillpretty]

I think her interviews would be sounding different if this movie wasn't UNDER performing 

i think you'll sound different with a boot in ur mouth

[M-Rocka]

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Jesus..

[Summertime]

^^^

That is crazy. Now I wonder what did the budget go to if it truly was $100 million pre-marketing.
WB and the other producers were moving really low budget for this big production.
I get that actors teams are supposed to negotiate for everything down to whose doing their hair and makeup, but some of the lack of a accommodations by the producers until Taraji brought it up seems like it would go against the SAG contract.

[Demetri Collier Electronics 🤴🏾]

OKay, I admire Taraji and respect the way she is going about all this. I will leave at that.