Did you catch the season finale of Empire? Taraji P. Henson phoned into On Air With Ryan Seacrest on Wednesday, April 22, and shared even she didn’t know how it would end.
The actress explained that the production of the hit FOX series was obviously impacted by COVID-19 quarantine and #SaferAtHome restrictions.
“We were filming 19 of 20 and that’s when COVID hit so we had to shut down,” Taraji shared with Seacrest on-air. “So I knew what the ending was, but I found what it was with everyone last night. … They had to make movie magic in the editing room.”
While the series couldn’t end in its intended way, Taraji’s thankful for the ride and is now focused on helping others amid the pandemic.
“I’m blessed enough to be able to call my therapist in times like this and I’m blessed enough to be in a home where I can social distance,” she shared. “That’s my blessings and my father always said to me ‘If you are blessed, then it is your job to go out in the world and bless others.’”
The actress, through her Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, is helping now by offering free tele-therapy to African-Americans.
“I couldn’t sit here and do nothing,” she explained of watching the community get “hit disproportionally.” According to statistics, a disproportionate number of African Americans are contracting and dying of COVID-19.
“It’s taboo in our community [to discuss mental health]," Taraji added. "So my whole effort is to take the stigma away from mental health illnesses so people can actually deal with their mental health.”
To do so, Taraji’s Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation is offering people up to five free virtual therapy sessions. To help donate, text “nostigma” to 707070 or head to https://borislhensonfoundation.org/
Listen back to the full interview in the audio above.