Taraji P. Henson is speaking about her starring role in the majorly successful movie, Baby Boy, but she says it was a gift and a curse because after the film’s release, she was only receiving “ghetto” roles.
Henson chopped it up with Sitting Keke Palmer on the ‘Baby, This Is Keke Palmer’ podcast, where she revealed that every script she read for years after was for “ghetto baby mama” characters.
“I’m really classically trained, guys. They just couldn’t figure me out, I guess. And I think they’re still trying to,” she explained.
The issue also made her reconsider starring as Cookie Lyon in ‘Empire,’ because the character was “a stereotypical sassy, loudmouth Black woman, and that was never my intention. It’s always to make real people [and] breathe life into these characters, so someone out in the world can see themselves reflected in these characters I portray.”
Earlier thsi month, during an interview with Lena Waithe for her podcast series, “Legacy Talk,” she revealed her character’s portrayal was heavily inspired by her own struggles.
“There were times when I read that script where I got goosebumps and I had to put it down because it was literally the blueprint to my baby’s father and I’s relationship,” she shared. “That young love, that young toxic hood love. I mean, verbatim.”