Taraji P. Henson broke down in tears during an appearance on Gayle King's Sirius XM radio show while speaking about pay disparity for Black actresses in Hollywood. King's question comes following Henson sharing similar sentiments with The Hollywood Reporter for a recent cover story. She told THR, "Listen, I've been doing this for two decades and sometimes I get tired of fighting because I know what I do is bigger than me. I know that the legacy I leave will affect somebody coming up behind me ... I've tried twice to walk away [from the business]. But I can't, because if I do, how does that help the ones coming up behind me?"
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00:00 "I'm tired of hearing my sister say the same thing over and over. You get tired."
00:06 Taraji P. Henson broke down in tears during an appearance on Gayle King's SiriusXM radio show,
00:13 while speaking about pay disparity for Black actresses in Hollywood.
00:16 When King asked the Oscar-nominated star if she's thinking about quitting acting,
00:20 Henson said this, "I'm just tired of working
00:26 so hard, being gracious at what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost."
00:33 The star of The Color Purple went on to say this,
00:35 "I hear people go, 'You work a lot!' I have to. The math ain't math."
00:40 King's question comes following Henson sharing similar sentiments with The Hollywood Reporter
00:45 for a recent cover story. She told THR, "Listen, I've been doing this for two decades,
00:49 and sometimes I get tired of fighting because I know what I do is bigger than me.
00:53 I know that the legacy I leave will affect somebody coming up behind me. I've tried twice
00:57 to walk away from the business, but I can't, because if I do, how does that help the ones
01:02 coming up behind me?" During the SiriusXM interview, Henson also shared this,
01:06 "It seems every time I do something and I break another glass ceiling, when it's time to
01:11 renegotiate, I'm at the bottom again, like I never did what I just did, and I'm just tired."
01:16 Henson's The Color Purple co-star Danielle Brooks also weighed in.
01:19 The movie marks the star's first major film role.
01:22 "Yeah, and what does it tell me? You know? And if I can't fight for them coming up behind me,
01:29 then what the f--- am I doing? I'm sorry."
01:31 Henson's words quickly went viral, with some of her Hollywood peers like Gabrielle Union
01:36 and Robin Thede reposting the interview in support.
01:38 For more on this story, go to THR.com. This is The Hollywood Reporter News.