Taraji P. Henson participated in the Cannes Film Festival’s Kering in Motion Talk at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Oscar nominee spoke honestly about her priorities at Holleywood, joining Stacy L. Smith at the Cannes Film Festival. Henson recently took a month off and moved to Bali after the film and television industry machines were "disheartened".

"I'm just frustrated, it hurts me, I'm not a pain person," He nodded and continued to struggle in Hollywood because of the lack of important roles, salary and recognition from women of color. "If I got there, I promised myself, it was time to walk away. I wasn't serving myself, the audience or the role I played. Thank God, I did. I'm back and regained a new perspective.

"Sometimes, in the industry, you'll be involved in trophys and awards, which is never the reason why I'm joining it," Henson added. "I'm here. It's life changing. Art saved me. During the crack pop, I was a little black girl wearing the hood of DC. I should be a stat. I shouldn't have done that, but I did."

Smith brings the data to a conversation that supports Smith’s frustration with Hollywood. Smith noted that while 54% of women and women were famous in the first 100 films last year, only 13% of women are women of color and only 1% feature women of color aged 45 or older.

Smith said of her harvest: “People of color have a chance.”

It’s important for her to “stop chasing things that I’ve never entered the industry” like awards and “refocusing.” She also noted that she spent years “gracefully getting less salary. No more!” When she returned from a month off in Bali, she first got caught in non-combat opportunities like her beauty brand TPH “rather than relying on Hollywood checks.”

“I urge you all to speak for themselves,” Henson told the women who participated in the conversation. "I've worked hard to get to Ghana. I rode for me. This is the audience I'm sourcing through my hard work and the role I play. I know a studio and when they call me, they're calling me because they know all of these people are going to show up and show up.

One of the decisive moments of realizing that she has power in Hollywood was when she discovered that the industry claimed that black projects don’t sell oversight was just a myth. This happened on the Fox Musical series "Imperial" International Media Tour, which turned Hanson into an international star, with her character outspoken cookies becoming the most iconic character in the series.

"When I held an international media for 'Empire' until then, I was told that Black wasn't translating overseas," she said. "Really? We went to Paris. Lee Daniels kept it secret from me during the Q&A session. Fans started asking cookie questions and he said, 'Why don't you ask her.' In my name, my name rang and I screamed on the stage.

As Henson re-enters Hollywood from a new perspective, she said she was embracing “the freedom to do what I want to do, not be controlled by the industry or by the machine.” Next, she starred in the Netflix TV series Straw on June 6.