Taraji P. Henson Fought for ‘Color Purple’ Cast to Have Drivers on Set

Taraji P. Henson opened up about some of the challenges the cast faced during filming The color purple – and how to push back.

“They gave us rental cars and I thought, ‘I can’t drive myself to Atlanta.’ This is insurance liability, it is dangerous,” said 53-year-old Henson The New York Times in an interview published on Friday, January 5. “Now they rob people. What do I look like when I drive myself to work in a rental car?”

Henson – who stars as Shug Avery The color purple – went on to say that she had to ask for a “driver or security” to take her to the set.

“I’m not asking for the moon,” she told the outlet. “They say, ‘If we do it for you, we have to do it for everyone.’ Well, do it for everyone! It’s things like that, things I shouldn’t have to fight for.

Danielle Brookswho plays Sofia in the 2023 musical, previously shared that Henson argued with producers to allow the cast to have their own dressing rooms and provide them with food.

“I remember when we first came and we were doing rehearsals, they put us all in the same room,” Brooks, 34, said in a question-and-answer session on Friday, January 5, presented by The Hollywood Reporter. “We didn’t have our own dressing rooms then. We had no food of our own… [Taraji] was our voice. This was my first studio film. Sometimes you come in and say, ‘Okay, I’ll take what they give me. I’m just happy to be here.’ But [Taraji] spoke for us. You showed me how to do that.”

The color purple It wasn’t the first time Henson stood up for good treatment on set. During her time at Fox’s rich from 2015 to 2020, Henson claimed she had to fight for better accommodations between scenes.

“I was on the set of rich fighting for trailers that weren’t infested with bugs,” she explained as she spoke The New York Times. “It affects your soul because you fight so hard to establish a name for yourself and be respected in this city, but to no avail.”

While Henson has been a champion for all her fellow castmates on set, she has also been outspoken about the pay disparity in Hollywood. Last month she talked about almost dying The color purple due to lack of pay and being forced to audition for the role despite it being the director’s first choice.

“I’m just tired of working so hard and being nice about what I do [and] getting paid a fraction of the cost,” she shared during a SiriusXM interview in December 2023. “I’m tired of hearing my sisters say the same thing over and over again… 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. I’m tired. It carries with you. What does that mean? What does that tell me? If I can’t fight for those who come after me, what the hell am I doing?