Taraji P. Henson talks diversity in Hollywood 'like a boss'
In a new interview with InStyle magazine, Taraji P. Henson does not hold back when talking about diversity and gender equality in Hollywood.
The always-candid actress, 48, in fact opens the interview with "I feel like a boss b----," citing her new role in the film "What Men Want," which comes with the coveted title of executive producer.
The role is inspired by the 2000 film, "What Women Want," and is a sign of the times, with Henson not only getting to play the lead but one that is cunning and successful -- a role that would normally have gone to a male actor.
"I just felt so honored and grateful to get a comedy where I could let it all hang out," she told the magazine.
Henson knows her worth and never minces words when calling out executives, who in the past said her fan base didn't reach overseas.
"I said, ‘You’re lying because they can reach me any time. I’m a finger tap away, and they let me know every day,'" she said. "Then we go to Paris, and it’s standing room only in a room with 1,500 seats. I cried. You can’t let people tell you s---."
She also appreciates Hollywood's move toward diversity but admits there's still a long way to go.
"Here’s the deal: When you talk about money, don’t you want to make money?" she said. "I want every walk of life [in my films]. If I could put an alien in, I would. I want their money too. Come on, it’s what the world looks like. That’s what people want to see, representation. That’s all. You can make money doing it. It’s a no-brainer.”
But when she's not speaking on equal rights for women and minorities, Henson also has a wedding to plan and made a drastic diet change recently for health reasons.
Henson plans to tie the knot in July to NFL star Kelvin Hayden and she promises not to "go through 10,000 dresses" to find the right one.
She also recently went vegan because a doctor gave her a grave prediction.
"It took a doctor in Macon, Georgia, to say, ‘If you don’t change what you’re doing, you’re going to get stomach cancer.’ I said, ‘Say no more,’" she revealed. "So I switched everything up out of necessity. I want to live. Thank God, because I feel so much better.”
