[ad_1]
Taraji P. Henson Says this is one of the best smart business decisions he’s made in Hollywood.
one in new interview with SAG-AFTRA Foundation, the 53-year-old star purple colour He said he fired his entire team after working on Fox’s hit series Empire Was one of the most prominent.
“Fire everyone after the cookie,” she replied during the conversation. of variety Angelique Jackson. “Everyone had to fuck off.”
hidden data The actress — who played Cookie Lyon for six seasons before the show ended in 2020 — pointed to several iconic features of her character while explaining why she thought her team would be ready after the show’s finale. And will be able to capitalize on her fan-favorite role. ,
“Where’s my deal? Where’s my endorsement? Cookie was on top of the fashion game. Where’s my endorsement? What preparation did you do after this? That’s why y’all didn’t see me for so long. They did it There was nothing set up,” Henson said during the sit-down.
One thing his team brought for him Empire The idea of a Cookie-centric spinoff was scrapped, which she said she was only willing to do if it was done “right”.
“They just wanted another cookie show, and I said, ‘I’ll do it, but it has to be right. People deserve it—she’s so sweet you can’t fuck it up.’ And so, when they didn’t do it right, I said, ‘Okay, that’s that,’ and they had nothing else. ‘You’re all fired,'” she said.
This interview comes after the Oscar-nominated actress recently broke up Discussing Hollywood’s significant pay inequality.
in conversation with gayle king For SiriusXM radio with Danielle Brooks And purple colour According to director Blitz Bazawule, things came to a head when Henson spoke openly about his frustration over the lack of fair pay in the industry, implying that long-standing issues were coming to a head in determining whether She gives up acting for good.
“I’m tired of working so hard, of being kind in everything I do, [and] Only a fraction of the costs are being paid,” she said. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over again. you get tired. I’ve heard people say ‘You work a lot!’ I would have to. Mathematics is not mathematics.”
Henson explained that a successful Hollywood career requires a team of people who are worth paying. “What we do brings big bills. We don’t do this alone,” he said. “The fact that we’re up here, we’ve got a whole team behind us. They’ve got to get paid.”
“When you hear someone say, ‘So-and-so made $10 million,’ it didn’t come into their account,” Henson continued. “On top of that, Uncle Sam is now getting 50% [you] There are 5 million dollars. Your team is getting 30% – or whatever work you do – of what you earned, not what Uncle Sam took. Now do the math.”
“I’m only human. Every time I do something and break another glass ceiling, when it’s time to negotiate again, I’m back to bottom as if I never did what I did.” Did, and I’m tired,” she lamented. “I’m tired. It wears on you. What does it mean? What is it telling me? If I can’t fight for those coming after me, what am I doing?”
This isn’t the first time Henson has spoken out on the topic. In his 2016 memoir, around the way girlHe claimed that he faced a huge pay discrepancy while working on the 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,
Compared to her co-stars, including Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, Henson wrote that she was paid “the equivalent of turning a sofa”. He said his salary was “in the low” six figures and claimed he had to pay his hotel bills for several months during production, an arrangement he called “an insult”.
In 2019 he expanded his claims while speaking to DiversityShe said she was initially offered $100,000 for the role, which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Henson claimed that she was able to increase the salary to $150,000, but it was still well short of the $500,000 she was expecting as a third-billed actor in a studio film directed by David Fincher.
“I want to make it absolutely clear — I’m not saying that Brad or Kate shouldn’t have got what they got,” Henson said at the time. “They’ve given seats to some people, so give them their money. They deserve it. I’m not saying they shouldn’t get what they’re getting. I was just asking for half a million – that’s all. .when i was doing benjamin button, I wasn’t worth a million yet. My audience was still getting to know me. “We thought we were asking for what was right for me at the time.”
Henson said, “I asked for half a million. That’s all.” “And they gave me $100,000. Does that mean anything? I’m third on the call sheet. Does that mean anything to you? I was only asking for $500,000 – that’s all we were asking for.”
Related Content:
