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Jada Pinkett Smith is showing support for Taraji P. Henson months after the “Color Purple” star went viral for getting emotional about facing pay disparities in Hollywood as a Black woman.
While appearing on NPR’s “It’s Been a Minute,” Pinkett Smith, 52, was asked by host Brittany Luse if she resonated with Henson’s words as a longtime Hollywood actor.
“Absolutely,” the “The Matrix Resurrections” star said in an interview that published Tuesday. “My heart broke for Taraji, and I was also happy [to see] how courageous she was to speak about it in the way that she did.”
Pinkett Smith continued, “One of the things with Taraji is that she is the breadwinner of her family. Her pressures would be different than mine. I have to put that out front, because if it’s time to walk away, that’s not always the solution.”
She added: “Because what people don’t understand with us as Black entertainers, we carry a lot of people with us.”
Pinkett Smith, who has been married to Oscar winning actor Will Smith for nearly 30 years, went on to share how being married to the superstar lessened her opportunities in the field.
“People would literally say, ‘Well, you don’t need [more money]. You’re married to Will [Smith],’” she explained to Luse.
The “Red Table Talk” co-host noted that the unequal treatment “has a lot to do with” why she rarely takes on acting gigs these days,
“It’s not to say that I won’t get in front of the camera, but what it takes for me to get in front of the camera, it’s more — just in regards to the kind of roles that I want to play or that interest me,” Pinkett Smith explained. She added that she’s also been “thinking about directing.”
Back in December, Henson, 53, broke down in tears over the unfair earnings gap during an interview with Gayle King on SiriusXM.
“I’m just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, being paid a fraction of the cost,” Henson shared. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired.”
The “Empire” actor went on to explain that though she works consistently, the “math ain’t mathing” once she pays for the unseen costs associated with her career.
“Big bills come with what we do. We don’t do this alone. The fact that we’re up here, there’s a whole entire team behind us. They have to get paid,” Henson added.