Bossip
Video
Taraji
P.
Henson
is
giving
even
more
insight
into
her
struggles
in
the
entertainment
industry.
Source:
Frazer
Harrison
/
Getty
In
a
new
interview
with
the
New
York
Times,
the
actress
once
again
addressed
the
pay
disparity
in
Hollywood,
saying
she
hasn’t
gotten
a
raise
since
2018.
Despite
feeling
like
she
and
her
costars
all
deserve
more
money,
a
bigger
check
isn’t
the
only
thing
Henson
is
fighting
for.
She
also
mentioned
all
of
the
other
amenities
she
had
to
fight
to
get
on
the
set
of
The
Color
Purple
after
not
having
them
on
other
jobs.
“I
didn’t
tell
them
[co-stars
Fantasia
and
Danielle
Brooks],
but
a
lot
of
the
stuff
on
that
set,
they
got
because
I
fought,”
Taraji
began.
“They
gave
us
rental
cars,
and
I
was
like,
‘I
can’t
drive
myself
to
set
in
Atlanta.’
This
is
insurance
liability,
it’s
dangerous.
Now
they
robbing
people,”
she
explained.
“What
do
I
look
like,
taking
myself
to
work
by
myself
in
a
rental
car?
So
I
was
like,
‘Can
I
get
a
driver
or
security
to
take
me?’
I’m
not
asking
for
the
moon.
They’re
like,
‘Well,
if
we
do
it
for
you,
we
got
to
do
it
for
everybody.’
Well,
do
it
for
everybody!”
The
actress
went
on
to
allege
that
the
trailers
while
working
on
Empire
were
infested
with
critters
noting
that
things
like
that
are
taxing
on
people’s
mental
health.
“It’s
stuff
like
that,
stuff
I
shouldn’t
have
to
fight
for.
I
was
on
the
set
of
Empire
fighting
for
trailers
that
wasn’t
infested
with
bugs,”
Taraji
said
to
writer
Kyle
Buchanan.
“It
wears
on
your
soul
because
you
fight
so
hard
to
establish
a
name
for
yourself
and
be
respected
in
this
town
to
no
avail,”
she
continued.
“With
Black
films,
they
just
don’t
want
to
take
us
overseas
and
I
don’t
understand
that.
Black
translates
all
over
the
world,
so
why
wouldn’t
the
movies?
I
have
a
following
in
China
of
all
places.
Y’all
not
going
to
capitalize
on
that?
Don’t
everybody
want
to
make
money
here?
I’m
not
the
person
that
pulls
the
race
card
every
time,
but
what
else
is
it,
then?
Tell
me.
I’d
rather
it
not
be
race,
please
give
me
something
else.”
Henson
also
opened
up
about
the
fact
that
she
had
to
audition
for
her
role
in
The
Color
Purple,
even
after
having
such
an
established,
award-winning
career.
“Oftentimes
in
the
industry,
you
can
be
the
director’s
choice
but
not
the
studio’s,
so
I
had
to
audition,”
she
explained
to
the
New
York
Times.
“I
had
to
check
my
ego
because
I
was
like,
‘Why
am
I
auditioning?’
I
mean,
I
get
the
singing,
because
there’s
nothing
out
there
that
shows
me
singing
like
that.
But
I
had
to
sing,
dance,
and
they
read
me.
I
was
like,
‘Ouch.’”
When
asked
about
the
last
time
she
had
to
audition,
Taraji
couldn’t
even
remember.
“I
don’t
even
know,
because
at
this
point
I’m
a
Golden
Globe
winner
and
Academy
Award-nominated.
So
I
went
in
there
with
a
chip
on
my
shoulder
because
I
was
like,
‘You
will
never
second-guess
me
again,’”
she
explained.
“I
found
a
dress
that
was
very
Shug,
I
had
did
my
hair
up
and
put
a
flower
in
it,
I
wore
a
faux-fur
shawl,
and
I
went
in
and
literally
kicked
the
door
down.
He
was
like,
‘Do
you
need
to
rehearse?’
I
was
like,
“’No,
let’s
go.’”
Henson
continued,
“Blitz
tells
it
like,
‘Within
20
minutes,
she
sealed
the
deal.’
But
I’m
really
getting
tired
of
fighting,
I’m
tired
of
proving
myself.
It
seems
like
every
time
I
break
a
glass
ceiling,
when
it’s
time
to
renegotiate
for
another
job,
I’m
right
back
like
I
did
nothing.
I
almost
had
to
walk
away
from
Color
Purple.”
“I
haven’t
had
a
raise
since
[the
2018
film]
Proud
Mary,
and
I
still
didn’t
get
a
raise,”
she
revealed.
“They
don’t
care,
they’re
always
looking
for
a
deal
and
trying
to
pay
you
the
least
amount.
I
remember
on
Empire,
I
was
fighting
over
trailers
[that
stars
use
as
their
home
base
while
shooting].
Taraji
went
on
to
talk
about
how
ridiculous
is
was
that
she
had
to
fight
for
a
clean
trailer
while
working
on
Empire.
“I’m
arguing
over
trailers,
and
then
I
go
down
the
street
to
Chicago
P.D.
and
they
got
the
nice
[ones]….You
understand
what
I
mean
by
‘I’m
tired
of
fighting?’”
While
some
fans
have
criticized
producer
Oprah
Winfrey
following
Henson’s
previous
complaints
about
fighting
for
equal
pay
in
The
Color
Purple,
Taraji
clarified
that
Winfrey
was
on
her
side.
In
her
interview,
she
noted
that
Oprah
was
in
her
corner,
but
these
are
battles
she’s
had
to
wage
alone
too
often.
“It
hurts
my
feelings
when
it’s
not
reciprocated,
but
I
know
this
world
is
cold
and
nobody
really
cares,
and
you
got
to
go
out
and
fight
for
what
you
want,”
she
said.
“What
else
do
I
need
to
do
to
prove
my
worth?
Now
that
I’m
singing
and
dancing
for
you,
and
I
climbed
up
on
the
table
88
times
with
my
knobby
knees
and
had
to
ice
my
knees
in
between
takes,
what
else
do
I
need
to
do?”
You
can
read
Taraji
P.
Henson’s
full
interview
with
the
New
York
Times
here.
