Taraji P. Henson knows the talent she brings on screen as a Golden Globe-winning actress with 83 projects under her belt.
But during her 2023 “Color Purple” press tour, she shared her dissatisfaction with the pay disparity and unfair treatment that she endures as a Black actress.
She gave several emotional speeches and interviews about her frustrations with the industry and candidly revealed her financial responsibilities.
Some fans worried Hollywood would blackball her for speaking out. But one Black director has kept her employed for the last two years: Tyler Perry.
Critics recently criticized Perry for filming most of his movies in less than seven days.
Henson experienced that firsthand when she joined Perry’s new film “Why Did I Get Married Again?”
She praised Perry for his work and also for consistently acknowledging her worth with competitive, top-tier compensation in a clip from the Sept. 8 Los Angeles screening of the film.
“He’s a friend of mine,” Henson stated. “It’s been amazing because I really love him for how he treats me.”
Referring back to the moment when she would openly talk about pay disparity in the industry, Henson said, “You know the things you hear me complain about? I don’t have those issues at the Tyler Perry Studio.”
Further giving the filmmaker credit, she expressed, “He sees me. He sees the work that I put in. He sees how passionate I am, and he rewards me for that in professional ways. Like them zeros on my check, in case you didn’t understand where I was going with this.”
Henson said she felt honored to join the cast for the third installment of the “Why Did I Get Married” franchise.
Henson was not part of the previous two films, which followed a group of Black friends, each with marital issues. But still, Henson said she felt like she was going to work with her friends.
In this film, she plays Roselyn, whose son is marrying the daughter of one of the other couples in the friend group. She played a strong mother who did everything to shield her son from his father’s addiction.
That protective role echoes a conversation she has had for years about Hollywood pay.
Three years ago, Henson visited Gayle King’s SiriusXM show and shared her grievances about being underpaid.
“I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired,” she said. “I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ I have to. The math ain’t math-ing. 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 further explained that a $10 million movie paycheck can easily shrink after taxes and her team’s 30% cut.
Henson also highlighted Hollywood’s pay disparities during a 2019 Variety’s “Actors on Actors” segment. She revealed that producers offered her a low-six-figure salary for her role in the 2008 film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which starred Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.
She said they initially offered her $100,000 when she was asking for half a million.
After negotiations, they settled on $150,000, even though she was the third-billed actor in the film.
While it’s not clear what Pitt made from the movie, in her memoir “Around the Way Girl,” Henson said she made “less than two percent” of the film’s profits.
Henson did not reveal how much Perry made her for her role in “Why Did I Get Married Again.” But it’s possible that she made more than half a million.
During Variety’s “Actors on Actors,” she added, “I think the industry knew I was talented. But it’s about money. Are you bankable? I had to continuously prove that. I’ve been trying to prove and improve. I was asking for half a million. I didn’t get paid that until I did my first Tyler Perry film.”
While her first project with Perry was 2008’s “The Family That Preys,” several industry outlets reported she secured that half-million-dollar payout for her top-billed role in his 2009 film “I Can Do Bad All By Myself.”
Following the “Why Did I Get Married Again?” premiere, Henson attended the Toronto International Film Festival.
Henson attended the world premiere of “Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been,” wearing an all-black gown. She is serving as an executive producer on the documentary celebrating the life and career of legendary R&B vocalist Darlene Love.
.
