Taraji P. Henson admitted that she nearly didn’t settle for her function in The Colour Red because of a pay disparity.
“I almost had to walk away from The Color Purple,” Henson, 53, mentioned in a Tuesday, December 19, are living interview for the SAG-AFTRA Basis, which earned gasps from the target audience. “Yes, ma’am. … If I don’t take a stand, how am I making it easy for Fantasia [Barrino] and Danielle [Brooks] and Halle [Bailey] and Phylicia [Pearl Mpasi]? Why am I doing this, if it’s all just for me?”
Whilst Henson didn’t proportion information about the discrepancy in her be offering, she famous that she hadn’t gained a “raise” since she starred within the 2018 movie Proud Mary.
“I’m getting really tired of Black women having the same story, it’s breaking my heart,” she admitted. “It’s like every time you achieve something really incredible, it’s almost like the industry looks at it like a fluke.”
Henson confessed that as a Black lady in Hollywood, she reveals herself negotiating simply to check what she made on a prior undertaking. The actress confessed that the irritating cycle of the business has made her hit a snapping point.
“I’m getting to a point where I just want to be 10 toes down on an island somewhere. Because [of] the fight as a Black woman. We do it with so much grace and get paid half the price of what we’re worth and that becomes difficult,” she mentioned on Tuesday. “And it’s a slap in my face when people go, ‘Oh, you work all the time!’ Well, bitch, I have to cause the math ain’t mathing.”
Henson joked she needs she may do just two motion pictures a 12 months and spend the remainder of her time stress-free, however she will’t have the funds for that luxurious since she has to fortify her circle of relatives in addition to her workforce.
“So, because you see me working so much, I got to. Big bills come with this s–t we do,” she defined. “I don’t do this alone, it takes a team and they want to get paid for their work, as they should.”
The Oscar nominee recalled an early time in her occupation when she requested for $500,000 for her function in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. She was once to begin with introduced $100,000 however in the long run walked away with $150,000.
“I wasn’t trying to take anything from Brad Pitt or Cate Blanchett, they deserve to earn what they get because they worked their asses off for it,” Henson shared. “I too worked my ass off and at the time I couldn’t say no, I didn’t have any power.”
Henson went on to mention that she concept concerning the “bigger picture” and made up our minds to take the smaller test. She famous that she in the long run drew inspiration from the pay fight as she performed Queenie within the 2008 movie, which earned her her first Oscar nomination.