Taraji P. Henson Tears Up Over 'Being Paid a Fraction of the Cost' in Hollywood: 'The Math Ain't Mathing'

"It seems every time I do something and I break another glass ceiling, when it’s time to renegotiate I’m at the bottom again like I never did what I just did," the actress said in an emotional new interview

Taraji P. Henson is getting candid about the significant pay inequality she says she faces in Hollywood.

In a conversation with Gayle King for SiriusXM radio, The Color Purple star, 53, broke down in tears when asked about past comments she's made about possibly leaving her acting career behind. She told King and fellow guests Danielle Brooks and Blitz Bazawule that she is "tired of working so hard" and "getting paid a fraction of the cost."

"I’m tired of hearing my sisters saying the same thing over and over," she continued, calling out what she perceives as a pay gap for Black women in Hollywood. "I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ I have to. The math ain’t mathing."

She went on to point out that a successful Hollywood career requires having a team of people supporting her. "Big bills come with what we do. We don’t do this alone," she said. "The fact that we’re up here, there’s a whole entire team behind us. They have to get paid."

Henson proceeded to break things down, explaining how her pay check for a movie or show begins to shrink considerably after taxes are taken out and all of the members of her team get their salaries. "Know that off the top, Uncle Sam is getting 50%. Your team is getting 30% of whatever you gross. Now do the math," she noted.

She said the situation has become increasingly frustrating for her, making her seriously question her future in the industry.

"I’m only human and it seems every time I do something and I break another 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," she explained, wiping tears from her face. "It wears on you, you know, 'cause what does that mean? What does that tell me?"

Related: See Taraji P. Henson Sing 'Push Da Button' in Powerful New Trailer for The Color Purple

She then turned to Brooks, 34, who appears alongside her in The Color Purple, and said while sobbing, "And if I can’t fight for them coming up behind me then what the f--- am I doing?"

The Empire star lamented that when "it's time for us to go to bat" amid a contract or deal negotiation, "they don't have any money."

"They play in your face. And I’m just supposed to smile and grin and bear and just keep going," she continued. "Enough is enough."

Henson said she has turned to side projects, including her TPH haircare line, to supplement her acting income and diversify her brand.

"I have other things because this industry, if you let it, it’ll steal your soul. But I refuse to let that happen," she insisted.

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Related: Taraji P. Henson Says Role Written for Her in 'St. Vincent' Went to Naomi Watts

This isn't the first time that Henson has spoken out on the subject. In her 2016 memoir, Around the Way Girl, she claimed she experienced a considerable pay discrepancy while working on the 2008 movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

Compared to her costars, she wrote, Henson was paid “the equivalent of sofa change." She said her paycheck was in the “lowest” six figures, and claimed she had to pay her hotel bill for several months during production, an arrangement she called an “insult.”

She later revealed in a 2019 interview with Variety that she asked for $500,000 for the role, but the studio "came in at $100,000" before bumping it up to $150,000 in negotiations.

"You’ve got to check your ego. I mean, I’m a Black woman, so I knew it was going to be a fight," she told the outlet. "I don’t get paid if I don’t fight."

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