Taraji P. Henson just laid out the brutal reality of how Hollywood treats male and female actors differently, and the numbers don’t lie.
During her appearance on Hoda Kotb’s “Making Space” podcast, she reflected on her 2001 breakthrough in John Singleton’s “Baby Boy” alongside Tyrese Gibson, and how their careers took completely different paths from that exact same starting point.
While Tyrese went on to book massive franchise roles in “Transformers” and “Fast and Furious,” Henson’s been waiting nearly three decades for that same opportunity.
“After ‘Baby Boy,’ Tyrese booked two franchise movies, huge: ‘Transformers’ and ‘Fast and Furious,'” she said. “I still have not booked my franchise film. Been in the game almost 30 years. No franchise film.”
The contrast is impossible to ignore, especially when you consider that both actors got their major break from the same director at the same time.
Henson remembered how everyone told her she’d blow up after working with Singleton, but something inside her knew it wouldn’t happen that way and unfortunately, she was right.
What makes this even more real is that Henson’s not bitter about it anymore.
She’s actually on the other side of the table now, which means she understands the politics involved.
“You can’t hurt my feelings anymore because now I know there’s politics involved,” she explained.
This isn’t her first time calling out the system either. According to Variety, she’s been vocal about pay disparity for years, and she even took a month off last year to reset in Bali after feeling discouraged by the industry machine.
The actress has discussed how she spent years being graceful while getting paid less than her counterparts, and she’s done with that narrative. Instead of waiting on Hollywood’s next move, she’s been building her own empire through her beauty brand TPH and other business ventures.
She’s also gearing up for her Broadway debut opposite Cedric the Entertainer in a revival of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” later this month, which marks another major move on her own terms.