Taraji P. Henson is opening up about some of her and her castmates’ experiences on the set of The Color Purple. Speaking to The New York Times, Henson said there were multiple conflicts with the production crew. One of those issues, according to the star, involved transportation. According to Henson, the production crew initially refused to offer rides to The Color Purple stars, making it difficult for them to get to the set in Atlanta.
“They gave us rental cars, and I was like, ‘I can’t drive myself to set in Atlanta.’ 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?” Henson told The Times.
The frustrated actress said she then went to demand rides for herself and her co-workers.
“So I was like, ‘Can I get a driver or security to take me?’ I’m not asking for the moon,” she said. “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.”
Henson said she is especially frustrated with the lack of respect for Black actors in the film industry.
“With Black films, they just don’t want to take us overseas and I don’t understand that,” she said. “Black translates all over the world, so why wouldn’t the movies? I have a following in China of all places. Y’all not going to capitalize on that? Don’t everybody want to make money here? I’m not the person that pulls the race card every time, but what else is it, then? Tell me. I’d rather it not be race, please give me something else.”
Danielle Brooks, who also starred on The Color Purple, expressed similar concerns when she spoke with The Hollywood Reporter. Brooks said the actors initially didn’t get their own dressing rooms or food.
“I remember when we first came and we’re doing rehearsals, they put us all in the same space,” Brooks told The Hollywood Reporter. “We didn’t have our own dressing rooms at the time. We didn’t have our own food…[Oprah] corrected it for us. [Taraji] was our voice. This was my first studio film. Sometimes you do come in saying, ‘OK, I’ll take whatever they give me. I’m just happy to be here.’ But [Taraji] spoke up for us. You showed me how to do that.”
Brooks said she expressed her concerns to Oprah, who co-produced the latest musical version of The Color Purple after starring in the original version of the film in 1985, according to People. The 34-year-old actress said she called Oprah and told her, “we gotta fix this.”
Henson, who broke down in tears when she spoke with Gayle King on SiriusXM in December, said she is also frustrated with the pay disparity in Hollywood.
“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson told King. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over…Every time I do something and 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 tired. I’m tired. It wears on you. What does that mean? What is that telling me? If I can’t fight for them coming up behind me then what the f**k am I doing?”
