Taraji P. Henson Revealed That She Fired Her Entire Team and Admitted It Was Her Best Business Decision
Movie star Taraji P. Henson has been making headlines of late after speaking out about pay disparities among actors in Hollywood. She has since taken drastic measures for change.
Actress Taraji P. Henson recently reflected on her long, successful acting career during an interview in the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations series.
She discussed her experiences from starring in the classic musical film, "The Color Purple," with Fantasia Barrino, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," with Brad Pitt, and the hit television show, "Empire," with Terrence Howard.
During the interview, the Golden Globe Award winner was asked about her best acting business decision, including representation. She revealed:
"Firing everybody after Cookie. Everybody had to go."
Henson was speaking about her character role in "Empire," as she played Cookie. She said her team did not get her endorsements for her iconic role on the show and had nothing set up for when the series would end.
This is why she has been scarce on television. Her team wanted another spin-off on her character, yet they had nothing planned for the near future. She wanted everything done right if she agreed to do another project, but when that fell through, it was a wrap.
Consequently, Henson fired her management team right after "Empire" ended in 2020 after being on air for six seasons since its inception in 2015. She had been with the same team for years up until that point.
In addition to sifting through management issues, Henson has been vocal about pay disparity and mistreatment in show business. In another recent interview with "SiriusXM," the four-time Emmy Award nominee got emotional when asked whether she was considering quitting acting.
"I'm just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost," said Henson, adding she is also tired of hearing fellow Black actresses complaining about the same thing over and over.
As public figures, their work comes with big bills because they have teams working behind the scenes who also have to get paid from their salaries. This has left the award-winning star frustrated.
For more than 20 years in her career, Henson has also experienced inequality when it comes to production houses that claim people of color do not sell overseas while they go all out for their white counterparts. She can no longer act oblivious to what she sees happening in Tinseltown and says, "Enough is enough."