Taraji P. Henson addresses the issue of unequal pay for Black women and discusses her inability to make the most of her on-screen success in Hollywood.
In a recent interview with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Henson revealed that she fired her former team for failing to capitalize on the success of her fan-favorite character, Cookie Lyon, on Empire.
“Everybody had to f—kin’ go,” she told Variety’s Angelique Jackson. “Where is my deal? Where’s my commercial? Cookie was at the top of the fashion game. Where is my endorsement? What did you have set up for after this? That’s why you all haven’t seen me in so long. They had nothing set up.”
After portraying Cookie Lyon for six seasons on the successful Fox drama, Henson expressed disappointment, revealing that she expected ample opportunities post-series but was severely underwhelmed by the outcomes.
At the time, Henson was open to working with her team, who proposed the idea of pursuing “another Cookie show” for her best interests.
“All they wanted was another Cookie show, and I said, ‘I’ll do it, but it has to be right. The people deserve, she’s too beloved for y’all to f—k it up.’ And so, when they didn’t get it right, I was like, ‘Well, that’s it,’ and they had nothing else. ‘You’re all f—kin’ fired.”
In the same interview, Henson openly discussed the ongoing struggle against pay inequality faced by her and her Black colleagues in Hollywood, reiterating a sentiment she shared last week with Gayle King.
“I put in the work in so that I could have a voice so that I could say no [to unfair offers] so that I could fight for those coming in behind me,” she explained.
“You can’t just pay me anything ’cause I’ll say no.”
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