Source:
Rodin
Eckenroth/GA
/
Getty
Academy
Award-nominated
actress
Taraji
P.
Henson
is
opening
up
about
the
struggles
of
being
a
Black
actor.
The
star
became
visibly
emotional
as
she
shared
that
she
has
considered
quitting
acting
after
regularly
being
underpaid.
In
an
interview
with
Gayle
King
on
SiriusXM,
and
The
Color
Purple
co-star
Danielle
Brooks
and
the
film’s
director,
Blitz
Bazawule,
Henson
addressed
a
report
that
she
thought
about
ending
her
illustrious
career
as
she
struggled
financially
despite
her
fame.
“I’m
just
tired
of
working
so
hard,
being
gracious
at
what
I
do,
being
paid
a
fraction
of
the
cost,”
Henson
said,
according
to
The
Huffington
Post.
“I’m
tired
of
hearing
my
sisters
say
the
same
thing
over
and
over.
You
get
tired.”
The
actor
became
visibly
emotional
as
she
detailed
the
financial
expense
of
managing
her
career.
“I
hear
people
go,
‘You
work
a
lot.’
I
have
to.
The
math
ain’t
mathing,”
she
said.
“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.”
According
to
Complex,
Henson
shared
in
another
recent
interview
that
she
replaced
her
entire
team
after
they
failed
to
capitalize
on
the
success
of
her
role
as
Cookie
Lyon
on
Empire.
In
response
to
being
asked
what
her
best
decision
was
as
an
actor,
Henson
replied,
“Firing
everybody
after
Cookie.
Everybody
had
to
fucking
go.
Where
is
my
deal?
Where
is
my
commercial?
Cookie
was
top
of
the
fashion
game.
Where
is
my
endorsement?
What
did
you
have
set
up
for
after
this?”
Despite
Oscar
nominations
and
critical
acclaim,
Henson
notes
that
she
feels
underpaid
compared
to
her
white
counterparts.
“It
seems
every
time
I
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,”
she
told
King.
“And
I’m
just
tired.
It
wears
on
you,
you
know?”
This
Christmas,
Henson
will
star
alongside
Brooks,
Fantasia
Barrino
and
an
all-star
Black
cast
in
the
reimagining
of
the
beloved
film,
The
Color
Purple.
Henson
plays
the
iconic
Shug
Avery
in
the
Oprah
Winfrey-backed
release.
Henson
was
nominated
for
an
Academy
Award
for
Best
Supporting
Actress
for
her
role
in
The
Curious
Case
of
Benjamin
Button
where
she
starred
alongside
Brad
Pitt.
She
has
previously
said
that
despite
asking
for
“half
a
million”
in
pay
for
the
role,
she
was
ultimately
paid
only
$150,000.
The
film
went
on
to
earn
$127.5
million
domestically
and
$208.3
million
in
foreign
markets,
with
a
total
gross
of
$335.8
million,
according
to
IMDB.
“Listen,
I’ve
been
doing
this
for
two
decades
and
sometimes
I
get
tired
of
fighting
because
I
know
what
I
do
is
bigger
than
me.
I
know
that
the
legacy
I
leave
will
affect
somebody
coming
up
behind
me,”
Henson
recently
told
The
Hollywood
Reporter.
She
added
that
she
is
advocating
for
other
Black
actors.
“My
prayer
is
that
I
don’t
want
these
Black
girls
to
have
the
same
fights
that
me
and
Viola
[Davis],
Octavia
[Spencer],
we
out
here
thugging
it
out.”
Henson
received
support
from
Gabrielle
Union
who
wrote
on
X
(former
Twitter)
“Not
a
damn
lie
told.
Not.
A.
Damn.
Lie.
We
go
TO
BAT
for
the
next
generation
and
hell
even
our
own
generation
and
above.”
