Taraji P. Henson says Tyler Perry personally invited her to join the cast of Why Did I Get Married Again? and the filmmaker paid the actress her worth.
“I was honored to be asked to join,” Henson said on the red carpet at a Los Angeles special screening on Sept. 8.
Although she admitted she had concerns about joining the popular franchise.
“I was a little nervous at first because I know how endearing this cast and this story is to the audience,” she explained
Related: ‘Why Did I Get Married Again?’ Photos Show Long-Awaited Cast Reunion
Henson said she already knew the other cast members, and they made her feel at home as she joined the third film in the franchise.
“It was like going to work with my friends,” she said. “It was a beautiful experience… they made me feel like I was in the first installment and I wasn’t, clearly.”
Henson plays Roselyn, mother of the groom, as the longtime friends reunite in Italy for a wedding.
The sequel, which is now streaming on Netflix, reunites Perry with original franchise stars Sharon Leal, Jill Scott, Tasha Smith, Michael Jai White, Lamman Rucker, and Richard T. Jones.
Henson laughed as she recalled how Perry pitched the project to her.
“He said, ‘You want to go to Italy? We’re gonna do Why Did I Get Married Again?’ And I was like, ‘And you want me?’” she shared. “And he was like, ‘Yes.’ And I was like, ‘I love Italy. Say less.’”
The Oscar-nominated actress, who has spoken openly about pay disparities in Hollywood, said working with Perry feels different because he recognizes her experience and compensates her accordingly.
“I really love him for how he treats me,” she said. “You know the things you hear me complain about? I don’t have those issues at the Tyler Perry Studio. He gives me the love that I [deserve]. He sees me. He sees the work that I put in. He sees how passionate I am, and he rewards me for that in professional ways.”
Then Henson made sure her point about pay was clear: “Like them zeros on my check, in case you didn’t understand where I was going with this.”
In a 2023 interview with Gayle King, Henson broke down in tears while saying she is sometimes offered lower pay than she feels she deserves. She added that Black women are undervalued in the entertainment industry.
“I’m tired of hearing my sisters saying the same thing over and over,” she told King. “I hear people go, ‘You work a lot.’ I have to. The math ain’t mathing.”
Now, after joining another Tyler Perry project, Henson said she felt welcomed and appreciated by the person who brought her there.
You can watch her red carpet interview below:
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