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There’s no doubt that Taraji P. Henson is a real powerhouse in when it comes to the roles she plays. From her unforgettable breakthrough performance in Hustle & Flow down to her Emmy-nominated role in Abbott Elementary, Henson slays the camera with strength and energy. However, the American actress’ career has seen peaks and valleys. Henson just recently got real about why she needed to take a break from acting, and she shared strong sentiments about her standing in the entertainment business.
Henson has certainly had a successful career in Hollywood, having landed leading roles in films and TV shows. Nevertheless, when she spoke at the Cannes Film Festival for a Kering Women in Motion Talk (via Variety), she spoke about feeling dissatisfied over the lack of leading roles, pay, and awards recognition for women of color:
I was just frustrated and it was making me bitter, and I’m not a bitter person. I made a promise to myself if I ever got there then it’s time to walk away. I’m not serving myself or the audience or the characters I play. Thank god I did that. I came back refreshed and with a new perspective.
Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, supported the Empire actress’s claims with evidence of her own. While 54% of the top 100 movies featured women and girls, only 13% featured women of color, and 1% had a woman of color who was 45 and older. After feeling “discouraged” by the entertainment industry, Taraji P. Henson decided to take a month off from acting and spend some time in Bali.
The entertainment industry is very competitive, and tha can be exacerbated by awards season. Fortunately for Taraji P. Henson, she has a clear motive for acting, and it has nothing to do with the accolades:
Sometimes in the industry you make it about the trophies and the awards and that’s never why I got into it. I came into this to change lives. The arts saved me. I was a little Black girl in the hood in D.C. during the crack epidemic. I’m supposed to be a statistic. I wasn’t supposed to make it out but I did.
It’s easy to get the impression that the Empire star is very grateful for how she’s defied the odds in a very tough industry. Before finding fame, she worked odd jobs like working as a secretary in the Pentagon and being a Tina Turner cover singer on a cruise ship.
Then, as an actress, the Henson began to give Oscar-worthy performances playing characters that brought strength and depth to Black women via Hidden Figures, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Color Purple. While she may only be nominated for one Oscar at this point in her career, her impact goes far beyond trophies.
A real defining moment for the What Men Want actress came when she was told Black-led projects don’t sell overseas. That myth was debunked as soon as Taraji P. Henson did international press for Empire in Paris, and audiences at the Q&A erupted in applause at the sight of her. This was all the more reason why, at Cannes, Henson served a powerful statement to all the women in attendance:
I urge you all to speak up for yourself. I have worked my butt off to garner the following I have. My following rides for me. That’s an audience I procured through my hard work and the characters I play. I know a studio, when they call on me, they are calling on me because they know all these people are going to come and show up. That’s my power. You need me because you need my following. Thank you, social media. Once I figured that out, I just started speaking up for myself.
That’s an incredibly passionate message Taraji P. Henson sent out to audiences, and I’m hopeful that it resonates. While she previously got real about social media’s flaws in regard to people only posting the good parts of their day, it looks like she sees the positive influence she can have due to her massive following. An online platform gives a star the space to say what’s on their mind and advocate for what matters most to them.
Henson’s brief break from Hollywood seems to have been beneficial for her, as she was able to return with more clarity. As her powerful statement conveys the importance of people speaking up when it’s most necessary, I’d like to believe this will be a real stepping stone towards more inclusion for leading roles with people of color. As for Henson’s work, she’ll next appear in Tyler Perry’s 2025 Netflix release, Straw, which debuts on June 6th.