Taraji P. Henson opened up to The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview about the challenges she’s faced as a Black female actor in Hollywood. The Color Purple actor told the outlet she “tried twice to walk away” from the industry.
“I've been getting paid and I've been fighting tooth and nail every project to get that same freaking fee quote. And it's a slap in the face when people go, 'Oh girl, you work all the time. You always working,'” she said. “Well, goddammit, I have to. 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 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,” the Empire actor added. “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.”