During her interview with Gayle King last month, Taraji P. Henson got emotional while reflecting on being underpaid throughout her career.
She later shared some of the mistreatment she’s endured as a Black actress in Hollywood in an interview with the New York Times, claiming that the cast of The Color Purple were given rental cars to get to set. “They gave us rental cars, and I was like, ‘I can’t drive myself to set in Atlanta,'” she explained. “This is insurance liability, it’s dangerous. Now they robbing people. 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! 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.”. View this post on Instagram
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According to her, actors weren’t given private dressing rooms or food on the set of The Color Purple. Eventually, Oprah heard about this and called Henson, who let her know that something needed to be done. From there, the issues were squared away, but it remains shocking that a group of award-winning actors even had to ask.
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