Elgin Nelson
While promoting her latest film ‘The Color Purple,’ Taraji P. Henson expressed her exhaustion and disappointment in her pay stating, “I’m weary of putting in so much effort, being gracious about my work, and receiving only a fraction of the compensation.”
The Oscar nominee shed tears on Gayle King’s Sirius XM show when asked if she would ever consider leaving the industry behind.
“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious about what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson said. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters saying the same thing over and over. You get tired.”
Henson explained that despite a successful career, starring in blockbuster movies such as Hustle & Flow, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Hidden Figures, she feels stuck receiving the same degrading offers.
“I’ve been getting paid and I’ve been fighting tooth and nail every project—and it’s a slap in the face when people go, ‘Oh girl, you work all the time. You always working.’ Well, goddammit, I have to,” Henson said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
“It’s not because I wish I could do two movies a year and that’s that. I have to work because the math ain’t mathing. And I have bills.”
“Listen, I’ve been doing this for two decades and I know that the legacy I leave will affect somebody coming up behind me. 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 said.
Her vulnerable moment on the podcast show went viral and caught the attention of several Hollywood actors, notably Gabrielle Union who supported her fellow peer stating, “Not a damn lie told. Not a damn lie. We go to bat for the next generation and hell, even our generation and above. We don’t hesitate to be the change that we all need to see AND it takes a toll on your mind, health, soul, and career.”
Robin Thede, the mind behind the successful TV show, A Black Lady Sketch Show, broke down the math that details how actors have to split fees and taxes between agents, managers, and lawyers saying, “Taraji is telling the absolute TRUTH. 70-80% of her gross income is gone off top for taxes and commissions. The math ain’t mathing! And I know—you’re like $10m (referring to a specific contract) minus $8m is still $2M.”
Henson is set to make her next film appearance this Christmas Day with the hotly anticipated, The Color Purple, playing the role of ‘Shug Avery’.