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Taraji P. Henson might be hitting her breaking point with pay disparities in Hollywood.
While promoting her upcoming film The Color Purple, Henson suggested that she may quit acting over the lack of fair pay, per The Root.
“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost,” she said. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people say ‘you work a lot!’ I have to. The math ain’t mathing. And when you start working a lot, you have a team. Big bills come with what we do, we don’t do this alone.”
Henson went on to shut down misconceptions surrounding how much actors in Hollywood get paid. According to Henson, the government takes half an actor's gross pay, and another 20-30 percent goes to various members of their team like managers, agents, publicists, stylists, and more.
“I’m only human and it seems every time I do something and break a glass ceiling—when it’s time to renegotiate, I’m at the bottom again like I never did what I just did. And I’m just tired,” Henson tearfully said. “I’m tired. I’m tired. It wears on you. Because what does that mean? What is that telling me? And if I can’t fight for them coming behind me, then what the f*** am I doing?”
Henson has previously called out pay disparities for Black actresses. She revealed that Tyler Perry was the first person to pay her $500,000 for a role.
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