Taraji P. Henson joked that the “biggest pimps are in Hollywood” while reflecting on her performance at the 2006 Oscars.
During an appearance on the Tuesday, September 3, episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Henson was asked what she remembers about her rendition of “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” at the 78th Academy Awards. Henson, 53, and Three 6 Mafia performed the track — taken from the Oscar-winning movie Hustle & Flow — live as it was nominated for and won Best Original Song.
“That was crazy,” Henson recalled to host Jimmy Fallon. “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].”
Henson remembered the A-list audience having their “fist in the air,” noting, “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!”
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“It was a party!” Fallon added.
The Oscar nominee then quipped, “The biggest pimps are in Hollywood!”
Henson quickly followed up, “I didn’t say that!” as she looked around the room and under her seat. Gesturing to a prop microphone on Fallon’s desk, she joked, “That’s what that thing said!”
Henson has been vocal about pay disparities in Hollywood in the past. In December 2023, she revealed she almost turned down her role as Shug Avery in the recent musical adaptation of The Color Purple because of a pay dispute.
“I almost had to walk away from The Color Purple,” Henson said during a live interview for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. “Yes, ma’am. … 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]? Why am I doing this, if it’s all just for me?”
While Henson didn’t share details about the discrepancy in her offer, she noted that she hadn’t received a “raise” since she starred in the 2018 film Proud Mary.
“I’m getting really tired of Black women having the same story, it’s breaking my heart,” she admitted. “It’s like every time you achieve something really incredible, it’s almost like the industry looks at it like a fluke.”
Speaking exclusively to Us Weekly at the TIME 100 Gala in April, Henson said she is not ashamed to open up about her struggles publicly.
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“My strength is in my vulnerability. I lean into that because that’s where the strength is,” the actress said. “In order to fix or change anything, you have to be vulnerable. You must, and that takes heart. That’s brave. Being vulnerable, trying to be strong. People do that every day.”
Henson added that there’s power in letting people see you cry, noting, “It’s human.”
