Taraji P. Henson Jokes Hollywood Has The 'Biggest Pimps' After 2006 Oscars Performance
In a recent appearance on 'The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,' Taraji P. Henson quipped that "the biggest pimps are in Hollywood."
On Tuesday, Henson and the host took a walk down memory lane, reminiscing about her 2006 . Oscars performance of the song, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" (2005).
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The Academy Award winning song was from her film 'Hustle & Flow,' starring Terrence Howard and Taryn Manning. Looking back she reflected that, "That was crazy. First of all, I'm singing about pimps and hoes. It was pretty surreal. I had to look above the crowd otherwise I would have frozen going as hard out [as I did]."
The fear largely came from the celebrity crowd in attendance. She mentioned watching everyone's reactions was a delight. "Helen Mirren, everybody was like, 'Yeah, it's hard out here!' And I was like, 'What in the world are we doing?' It was great!"
Fallon, 49, added, "It was a party!"
The Washington, D.C., native went on to joke, "The biggest pimps are in Hollywood!" She quickly clarified, "I didn't say that! That's what that thing said!"
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Henson also addressed pay disparities in Hollywood.
"I almost had to walk away from 'The Color Purple,' " she recalled, due to a pay dispute.
She took a stand in order to make it easier for her fellow actresses to do the same. "If I don't take a stand, how am I making it easy for Fantasia [Barrino] and Danielle [Brooks] and Halle [Bailey] and Phylicia [Pearl Mpasi]? I'm getting really tired of Black women having the same story, it's breaking my heart... It's like every time you achieve something really incredible, it's almost like the industry looks at it like a fluke."
This is not the first time that the 53-year-old has spoken up about this issue.
When she spoke at the TIME 100 Gala, she shared the importance she feels in making her needs known. "My strength is in my vulnerability. I lean into that because that's where the strength is... In order to fix or change anything, you have to be vulnerable. There's power in letting people see you cry, noting, 'It's human.' "
