Taraji P Henson gets emotional over the gender pay gap in Hollywood

Taraji P. Henson is an Oscar-nominated actress best known for her stellar work in Empire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Hidden Figures. But during the press tour for her most recent film, the remake of The Color Purple, the award-winning actress broke down in tears over a discussion about the gender pay gap in Hollywood, and specifically, how that affects Black women.

Speaking with Gayle King on SiriusXM, Taraji put her head in her hands for a few moments, before saying through tears, “I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious about what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost. I’m tried of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired.”

This is so sad. pic.twitter.com/xlrwxZzgWG

— x ♒︎ (@slightwright) December 20, 2023

She went on to explain how all that glitters isn’t gold.

“I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ I have to. The math ain’t math-ing,” she said. “And you start working a lot, you have a team. Big bills come with what we do. We don’t do this alone. It’s a whole team behind us. They have to get paid.”

She continued, “So, when you hear someone saying, ‘Oh, such and such made $10 million,’ know that didn’t make it to their account. Know that off the top, Uncle Sam is getting 50%. OK? Do the math, now we have $5 million. Your team is getting 30% off what you gross, not after what Uncle Sam took.”

 "Now, do the math. I’m only human. It seems every time I do something and break another glass ceiling, when it’s time to renegotiate, I’m at the bottom again like I never did what I just did, and I’m tired.”

She grew very emotional at the end of her statement, choking on her words, and reaching for a tissue. She finished off her thoughts with, “I’m tired. It wears on you. What does that mean? What is that telling me? If I can’t fight for them coming up behind me then what the f**k am I doing?”

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. 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 if we're keepn it 💯 ❤️ u @tarajiphenson https://t.co/Z2cXSK7fta

— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) December 20, 2023

Fellow actress Gabrielle Union reposted the clip of Taraji choking up as she revealed the truth behind Hollywood finances, and posted a comment on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “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. 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 if we’re keepn it 100.”

This isn’t the first time Taraji has sounded the alarm on the gender pay gap for Black women.

Back in April, she told Variety that she wanted $500,000 for her role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button opposite Brad Pitt, but she was initially only offered $100,000. She walked away with $150,000 and an Oscar nomination for her role. SportsKeeda reports that Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett earned “millions” for their co-starring roles in the same film, and that Taraji only made 2% of their salaries.

Taraji isn’t the only Black woman in Hollywood who has been raising awareness about the Black-gender pay gap. Back in 2018 while speaking at a Women In The World event, Viola Davis had similar comments that went viral, challenging Hollywood to “pay me what I’m worth!”

They done told y’all! 😞

pic.twitter.com/bRVIshzRYK

— 🅳🅴🅽🅽🅸🆂 (@dennis_k_g) December 20, 2023