Taraji P. Henson Says Working with John Singleton on ‘Baby Boy’ Boosted Tyrese’s Career But Not Hers
A resurfaced video of Taraji P. Henson, 54, has infuriated fans of late filmmaker John Singleton.
Henson starred in the Singleton-directed “Baby Boy.” The 2001 movie’s cast also included Tyrese Gibson, Snoop Dogg, Ving Rhames, Omar Gooding, and A.J. Johnson.
In September 2024, Variety’s YouTube channel published an interview with Henson to promote the “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” mini-series on Peacock.
The 11-minute video featured Taraji having to guess her past film or television roles based on famous lines from the project.
At one point, Henson answered a prompt for “Baby Boy,” which led to the Howard University graduate sharing a personal takeaway from working on the coming-of-age drama.
“Rest in peace, John. I miss you,” Henson stated. “Everybody was telling me, ‘Oh my god. You know what John Singleton does for careers.’”
The Oscar-nominated actress added, “I guess I started to see simultaneously how things happen in the business for men versus women.”
Henson then compared her career in show business to her “Baby Boy” co-star, Tyrese. Both actors began their Hollywood rise in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“I just knew Tyrese would take off which he did. He booked two franchise movies. I still have yet to book a franchise movie. So, there’s that,” Henson expressed before laughing.
“So I knew that and I was ready. I prepared myself,” she continued.
A clip of Henson’s remarks about Singleton and Tyrese recently made it to X. Social media users weighed in on what the Golden Globe Award winner had to say.
For instance, someone wondered, “Am I missing something? She’s an A-LISTER. Worked with A-listers ever since. Like???” The original poster responded, “That doesn’t translate into $$$.”
Another person asked, “How [do] you blame a director over your agent when it comes to you getting movie roles?” A reply read, “She didn’t place blame anywhere but stated facts.”
“I may be in the minority here, but I never thought her to be that good of an actress. I don’t think she has that much range,” one critic of Henson’s acting expressed.
However, a Henson defender wrote, “She makes a point, though unlike him [Tyrese], she has a Golden Globe Award, along with an Oscar nom and several Emmy noms.”
A like-minded X user posted, “She’s not wrong, but at the same time she’s in Oscar-nominated movies. Has her own nominations. Had a huge, hit TV show that was nominated for Emmys. She may not have a franchise, but she does [have] credibility in the industry.”
Following his performance in “Baby Boy,” Tyrese, 46, entered the highly profitable “Fast & Furious” universe when he got cast for 2003’s “2 Fast 2 Furious,” which was also directed by Singleton.
The R&B singer went on to appear in “Fast Five,” “Fast & Furious 6,” “Furious 7,” “The Fate of the Furious,” “F9,” and “Fast X.” In addition, he joined the “Transformers” movie franchise in 2007.
The Los Angeles-raised entertainer reconnected with Singleton for 2005’s “Four Brothers.” Plus, the six-time Grammy nominee released seven solo studio albums between 1998 and 2024.
“My first movie was ‘Baby Boy,’ my second was ‘2 Fast 2 Furious,’ and he directed both,” Tyrese told Vulture about Singleton in 2021. “His idea, literally, was ‘I’m going to make you funny, because you’re funny as hell and people need to see that.’”
Henson found success on the big screen in movies such as Singleton’s “Four Brothers,” which was released the same year as her breakout performance in “Hustle & Flow. She also starred in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” alongside Brad Pitt, “The Karate Kid,” “Think Like a Man,” and 2023’s “The Color Purple” musical.
In 2015, Henson reached mainstream appeal by portraying Loretha “Cookie” Lyon in the “Empire” musical drama series which ran on Fox for six seasons.
The “Around the Way Girl” author received back-to-back Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2015 and 2016.
Tyrese’s projects reportedly have grossed around $6.6 billion at the worldwide aggregate box office. In comparison, Henson’s worldwide aggregate box office total is closer to $2.6 billion.
“Baby Boy” made $29.4 million at the worldwide box office. The movie scored three nominations at the 2002 NAACP Image Awards, including an Outstanding Actor nod for Tyrese.
