Taraji P. Henson Breaks Down Over Hollywood Pay Disparity: This Industry ‘Will Steal Your Soul’

Kate Erbland
·4-min read

Taraji P. Henson has some hard truths to share. During a recent appearance on Gayle King’s SiriusXM show (via Variety), “The Color Purple” star was asked about rumors she might be quitting acting, which inspired the actress to offer up an emotional answer.

“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson said. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ Well, I have to. The math ain’t math-ing. When 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.”

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Henson was joined by her “Color Purple” director Blitz Bazawule and co-star Danielle Brooks, who nodded as Henson broke down the actual economics of her career.

“When you hear someone go, ‘Such and such made $10 million,’ that didn’t make it to their account,” Henson said. “Off the top, Uncle Sam is getting 50 percent. Now have $5 million. Your team is getting 30 percent [of] what you gross, not after what Uncle Sam took. Now do the math. I’m only human. 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. I’m tired. It wears on you. What does that mean? What is that telling me?”

An emotional and nearly sobbing Henson then gestured to Brooks, adding, “If I can’t fight for them coming up behind me, then what the fuck am I doing?”

The lauded actress then added she’s still told that Black actors and stories “don’t translate overseas,” an oft-used chestnut. “I’m tired hearing of that my entire career,” Henson said. “Twenty-plus years in the game and I hear the same thing, and I see what you do for another production but when it’s time to go to bat for us they don’t have enough money. And I’m just supposed to smile and grin and bear it. Enough is enough! That’s why I have other [brands] because this industry, if you let it, it will steal your soul. I refuse to let that happen.”

In 2016, Henson spoke out about pay disparities on David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which she further elaborated on in 2019. Henson said at the time she had to settle for a salary in the low six-figure range, but in an interview with Variety, the actress revealed the shockingly low number: $150,000. Henson said the salary was a bump up from the original salary offer of $100,000, a far cry from the half a million she was expecting considering she was the third billed actress in a David Fincher studio movie.

“I want to make this very clear — I’m not saying that Brad or Cate shouldn’t have gotten what they got,” Henson told Variety about the pay gap. “They put asses in seats, so give them their money. They deserve it. I’m not saying they shouldn’t get what they’re getting. I was just asking for half a million — that’s all. That’s it. When I was doing ‘Benjamin Button,’ I wasn’t worth a million yet. My audience was still getting to know me. We thought we were asking for what was fair for me, at the time.”

Henson had to settle for $150,000 for a role that would end up earning her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The actress told Variety she expected there to be a pay negotiation (“I’m a Black woman, so I knew it was going to be a fight”), but the final offer well below $200,000 was a shock.

You can watch Henson’s full interview in the video below. Warner Bros. releases “The Color Purple” in theaters on Monday, December 25.

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