For decades, Taraji P. Henson He was told that his star power had limits, especially abroad.

However, the award -winning actress now breaks myths, denounces wage inequalities and recovers her power.

At the Cannes Film Festival, Henson delivered one of the most honest reflections on being a black woman in Hollywood and why she finished remaining silent.

Henson recently took a break that changed the life of Hollywood, moving away from work to spend a month in Bali.

Brapped and discouraged, the actress felt an increasing bitterness that she did not recognize in herself.

During the Cannes Film Festival, she spoke to Stacy L. Smith, founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, for a Kering Women in Motion conference and shared the details of her trip to Bali and why she left Hollywood.

“I was just frustrated and it made me bitter, and I am not a bitter person,” she admitted by Variety. “I promised myself if I ever got there, so it’s time to go away. I don’t serve myself or the public or the characters I play. God thank you, I did it. I came back refreshed and with a new perspective.”

For years, Henson has been informed that movies and television programs were focused on black characters, especially international characters, do not resonate worldwide.

This myth was broken during the press tour for “Empire”, the spectacle that made his character a world feeling.

“When I made the international press for the empire ”, until then, I was told that Black was not translated abroad,” she said. “Really? We went to Paris. Lee Daniels kept me secret for the public during a Q&A. The fans started to ask the questions to the cookies and he said:” Why don’t you ask him. “Before he could finish saying my name, the whole piece broke out in applause and shouted for me.”

She added: “The myth broke out. You lied to me all my career. I leave the scene and there are fans outside who know my name. It has changed the game.”

While Hollywood often emphasizes prices and distinctions, Henson has decided to realign her objectives with the reasons why she became an actress in the first place.

“Sometimes, in the industry, you make trophies and rewards and that is never the reason why I started,” she said. “I entered this area to change my life. The arts saved me. I was a little black girl in the DC hood during the Crack epidemic. I am supposed to be a statistic. I was not supposed to do it, but I did it. ”

Therefore, Henson no longer wants to drive out external validation.

Instead, she plunges into projects that align with her mind and gives her goal.

Henson also frankly talked about wage inequalities, revealing that she spent years accepting less than she deserved it but will not do it anymore.

“I spent years being graceful to be less paid. She said.

After her return from Bali, she started investing more in her beauty brand, TPH and other companies. “Instead of relying on this check in Hollywood,” she added, “I immersed myself first in business.”

She highlighted the importance of self -esteem and encouraged women in the industry to recognize their own power.

“I urge you all to speak for yourself,” she said. “I worked my buttocks to collect the following that I have. My following walks for me. It is an audience that I bought through my hard work and the characters I play.”