Can 50 Cent revive the legendary Cookie character? Following Taraji P. Henson’s candidness about her struggles as a Black actress, the emcee is willing to help her carve out a new space in Hollywood. During press interviews for her new film, “The Color Purple,” Henson has spoken out about pay disparities and how she has fought for equal pay for decades.
In an interview with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Henson discussed her disappointment and anger about her production team’s inability to capitalize off of her success as the character “Cookie” from the hit show “Empire.” She said she had to fire everyone from the team after the show was over.
“Everybody had to f**kin’ go. Where is my deal? Where’s my commercial? Cookie was at the top of the fashion game. Where is my endorsement? They had nothing set up. “All they wanted was another Cookie show, and I said, ‘I’ll do it, but it has to be right.
“The people deserve- she’s too beloved for y’all to f**k it up.’ And so, when they didn’t get it right, I was like, ‘Well, that’s it,’ and they had nothing else. ‘You’re all f**kin’ fired,’” she explained. 50 cent then shared a screenshot from a Deadline article on Instagram about Henson letting go of her whole team.
The post was read, “They dropped the ball. F**k ‘em, [Taraji P. Henson]. I’m ready to work. Let’s get it!” 50 Cent has managed to become a giant in the world of television and has executive produced shows like “Power Book II: Ghost,” “Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” “BMF” and “Power Book IV: Force.”
Other actresses, like Gabrielle Union and Keke Palmer, have shown support for Henson about what it’s like to be a Black woman in Hollywood.