Following disappointing sales in theaters across the country, Taraji P. Henson wants the public’s focus back on the movie and not on the remarks about pay inequality in Hollywood.
Henson spoke out about being underpaid as a Black actress in Hollywood. She also revealed that female cast members were forced to drive themselves to the studio in a rental and were not provided decent food and refreshments or even separate dressing rooms as other Hollywood stars are usually given.
“I hope they can focus back onto this film, because right now, to me, it feels like what I said is now becoming louder than this beautiful film,” Henson tells TODAY.com. “I hope they can focus back onto this film, because right now, to me, it feels like what I said is now becoming louder than this beautiful film.”
She continued, “And that’s not fair to me, or anybody in the film because the film deals with women who are oppressed — who live in an oppressed system. Men and women. And all the characters in that film except for the white people. So that movie is about healing. That movie is about sisterhood.”
In the movie, Henson stars as blues singer Shug Avery, and in the movie, along with Fantasia Barrino as Celie and Danielle Brooks, who plays Sofia. Oprah Winfrey, who starred in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of the film, served as executive producer.
The musical adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel raked in more than $18 million in tickets on its Christmas Day release. Still, its second weekend sold less than $5 million in tickets. PostTrak reports that the opening weekend audience was 65% Black, 19% white, 8% Hispanic, and about 5% Asian.
While some believe the movie’s failure to reach a broader audience is to blame for the stalling ticket sales, others believe the bad publicity helped to kill the momentum.
