Jada Pinkett Smith praises Taraji P Henson as 'courageous' for voicing frustration over pay disparity

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jada Pinkett Smith has shown support for Taraji P Henson’s frustration over pay inequality in Hollywood.

In December 2023, Henson conveyed her frustration with the bias in the entertainment industry during a conversation with Gayle King on SiriusXM, as per CBS News, stating, "I'm just tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, getting paid a fraction of the cost."

Taraji P Henson opened up about pay disparity 

In her December 2023 interview with CBS News, Taraji discussed the impact of low pay on her career.

“I'm tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over. You get tired. I hear people go, 'You work a lot.' I have to. The math ain't mathing,” she shared. [sic]

The Golden Globe Award winner actress also added, “And when you start working a lot, you have a team. Big bills come with what we do. We don't do this alone. It's a whole entire team behind us. They have to get paid.”

“It seems every time I do something and break another glass ceiling, when it's time to renegotiate, I'm at the bottom again, like I never did what I just did, and I'm tired," Henson asserted at the time.

Jada Pinkett Smith called Taraji P Henson ‘courageous’

Now, Jada has claimed to understand ‘The Color Purple’ star’s pain as she said on the NPR podcast ‘It's Been a Minute,' “My heart broke for Taraji, and I was also happy, you know, that her courage - how courageous she was to speak about it in the way that she did, you know? It's hard to speak about.”

She stated, “One of the things with Taraji - she is the breadwinner of her family. Her pressures would be different than mine.”

Referring to her own experiences, the wife of Will Smith explained, “People would literally say, ‘Well, you don't need it. You're married to Will.’ Yeah. I've heard that several times.”

Jada Pinkett Smith is now 'thinking about directing’

Jada also disclosed that due to disparities in pay, she now prefers not to "act as frequently or as extensively as" before.

“That has a lot to do with it - and also wanting to get on the other side to kind of help remedy that as a producer and then just wanting to bring more of my influence behind the scene,” the ‘Girl Trip’ actress said.

She continued, “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…” before adding, “It's more just in regards to the kind of roles that I want to play or that interest me. And I'm thinking about directing. I am starting to think about doing that.”