We can’t get enough of Taraji P. Henson and apparently, the rest of the country can’t either. It took a little time, but thanks to her role as the beloved Cookie Lyon of “Empire,” everyone else can see what we’ve seen in her all along. The 44-year-old beauty has snagged another magazine cover. This time, she’s serving Diana Ross realness in the July issue of Allure magazine. Inside, she holds nothing back and touches on everything from “Empire” star Terrence Howard’s legal issues to why she doesn’t date her co-stars. Check out some highlights from her interview below.
On her relationship with Howard:
“I just know him. We trust each other.”
On abuse allegations made against Howard by his ex-wives:
“Let’s pop the trunk to your life and see what’s dysfunctional and what’s bad…. At the end of the day, we’re all human, and we got flaws, and we got shit.”
On why she doesn’t date co-stars:
“I always wanted to be known for my work. Not who I dated. Not who I slept with…. I have a gift, and my gift is acting.”
“I started in the business at 26 with a kid, so I was smart enough to know reality from fantasy. I didn’t want to blur the lines. This is a job that I have to do. I cannot get caught up in it. And if I sleep with these guys, why would they want to work with me again? Why wouldn’t they? The conquest is up. Now I’m just used-up [p—y].”
“You have to stay professional. It is a business. I’m not letting no knucklehead dude come between my hard work and my money.”
On the struggle to make it big:
“I’ve had so many false starts,” says Henson. But as she puts it, “If it’s easy, what story are you going to tell? Nobody wants to hear about how easy it was. That doesn’t inspire anyone.”
Allure
