Taraji P. Henson did not expect to go viral with her comments about money: 'The math ain't mathing'
Taraji P. Henson did not expect to go viral with her comments about money and while she has been saying the same thing for years, has no idea why that was the time that the world listened.
Taraji P. Henson did not expect to go viral with her comments about money.
The 53-year-old actress tearfully admitted earlier this year she considered walking away from acting because of how little she thought she was being paid and has no idea why that time in particular was the moment that grabbed the world's attention but is sure that "everything happens for a reason".
She told US TV show 'Extra': "I didn’t start the conversation. I was asked a question and I answered. It’s a question that I’ve been asked throughout my entire career.
"Why that time was chosen to shine a light and amplify and people hear it, that's not up to me. But it’s not new news — certainly not new news in Hollywood, and I’m not the only one saying it. So, you know, everything happens for a reason. I guess that was the time that it was to be heard."
The 'Color Purple' star famous claimed that the "math ain't mathing" when she broke down all the expenses that come with being an actress before she even gets to see her salary.
Speaking on SiriusXM, she said: "I'm just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, and getting paid a fraction of the cost. I’m tired of hearing my sisters saying the same thing over and over. I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ I have to. The math ain’t mathing.
"When you start working a lot, you have a team.
"Big bills come with what we do. We don't do this alone. There's a whole entire team behind us and they have to get paid. So when you hear someone saying 'Oh such-and-such made $10 million.' That didn't make it to their account.
"Know that off the top, Uncle Sam is getting 50 per cent. So now we're at five million. Your team is getting 30 percent of whatever you gross. Not after what Uncle Sam took. Now do the math.
"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."
