Taraji P. Henson Makes a Case for Equal Pay In the Most Cookie Lyon Way Ever

Impact

Taraji P. Henson made a case for pay equity while accepting the Women In Film's Crystal + Lucy award for excellence — in pure "Cookie Lyon" fashion, of course. 

The star of the hit FOX series Empire spoke to the crowd Wednesday night about her character's ability to transcend race and gender as "the truth" for her biggest fans, and why she deserves to make just as much as her male counterparts. 

"Why should my pay be less than his?" Henson asked the audience. "Is it because he has a penis? Because we live in a world now where I can have one attached, so ... just let me know if that's what I need, because I have them at home in all different colors."

Cathy Schulman, the president of Women in Film, opened the night at the Beverly Hilton with a call-to-action for Hollywood to begin including more representations of women in movies. 

"Gender parity in Hollywood is important because what we see on the screen affects what decisions people make," she told the crowd. "We are the keeper of the stories; if we don't include women, we are not being fair."

"If she did good work, like, god damn, give her the fucking award," Henson continued. "Give her the fucking check."

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