Taraji P. Henson | Entertainment News, Photos, and Videos

Taraji P. Henson and her fiance Kelvin Hayden have ended their engagement.

“I haven’t said it yet but it didn’t work out. You know what I mean? I tried, I said, ‘let’s do the therapy thing’ but if you’re both not on the same page with that, then you feel like you’re taking it on yourself and that’s not a fair position for anybody to play in a relationship,” she said during Power 105.1’s “The Breakfast Club” morning show.

“My happiness is not his responsibility and his is not mine. We have to first learn how to make ourselves happy, to make each other happy. So when one person is taking on the weight of the entire relationship, it’s never going to work,” she added. “You have to show up, yes you want to be understanding but you can’t lose yourself in that understanding. You have to still stand up for yourself and be there for yourself but it’s hard to do if the other person isn’t doing that either.”

She did add that she hasn’t given up on love, saying, “I’m dedicated to the black man, y’all, I just turned 50.”

The last photos we have of Taraji and Kelvin, a former NFL player, are from back in February. They got engaged in 2018.

Taraji P. Henson is headed to Facebook.

Facebook Watch announced today that they have greenlit a talk show with the Empire actress focusing on mental wellness.

Co-hosted by Trace Jade Jenkins, who is the Executive Director of the Boris Lawrence Henson foundation, they will center on pertinent mental health issues, specifically those that affect the Black community.

Through interviews with celebrities, experts and everyday people, the series will show how to provide support, bring awareness and help eliminate the stigmas of mental health issues.

“I’ve long been a mental health advocate for the Black community and created the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in 2018 that has provided resources to thousands of people who are struggling,” Taraji shared in a statement.

She added, “I’m looking forward to bringing this new talk series to Facebook Watch, where I can continue to create conversation around an issue that is near and dear to my heart.”

Last month, Taraji celebrated her 50th birthday in a big way. See what she did here…

Taraji P. Henson is showing off her killer bod!

The Empire star took to Instagram on Friday (September 11) to share a whole bunch of photos during a photo shoot while celebrating her 50th birthday on a yacht with friends.

PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Taraji P. Henson

“Go off shawty it’s ya BIRFDAY 💋💋💋” Taraji captioned the post, while posing at the bow of the yacht, while rocking a white, thong bikini.

Taraji‘s famous friends then took to the comments to wish her a happy birthday.

Don’t hurt em @tarajiphenson looking fine as wine girl Happy Birthday❤️,” Tina Knowles-Lawson wrote.

“Happy bday. Talented, beautiful, funny and real… love you,” Marlon Wayans commented. “Never change just keep evolving.”

“Happy Bday 👑,” Ludacris added.

If you missed it, Taraji will be playing Cookie again in an Empire spin-off!

Cookie Lyon might be returning to your TV screens in the future!

Taraji P. Henson is set to reprise her iconic role in an Empire spin-off series that is currently in the works at Fox. This marks the first project to come out of the Oscar-nominated actress’ first-look deal with the network.

Empire co-creator Danny Strong will co-write the series with Yolanda Lawrence and Stacy A. Littlejohn, who also worked on the hit show. They will all serve as co-showrunners.

Not much is known about the spin-off series’ plot, but THR reports that it will “follow Cookie as she moves to L.A. and potentially feature some of her other family members.”

Things didn’t end as planned on Empire when the series came to an early conclusion back in April 2020 due to the pandemic. The spin-off series will give the creators a chance to wrap things up properly.

Taraji P. Henson doesn’t want you to call her a “strong Black woman”.

In a discussion with Essence, the 49-year-old actress is explaining why she has an issue with the label.

“It dehumanizes our pain. It belittles our tears. It belittles our pain. We’re supposed to be able to watch our brothers and sons and fathers get murdered in the street but we can take it because we’re strong,” she said. “We can deal with it, we can handle it, and that’s just not true.”

Taraji added that the phrase tokenizes Black women.

“We’re not fairies. We don’t magically rebound from pain,” she shared. “We hurt and suffer just like others.”

People need to be “very careful with that term,” Taraji continued. “Strength is in being vulnerable, and that’s what I want my people to understand. The strength is in being vulnerable and being honest with yourself and saying, you know what, I’m scared right now. Or, I honestly don’t know what to do right now.”

“Maybe if we fix how we define strength and weakness in people, it can stop being a potentially damaging, diminishing or even life-threatening descriptor for Black women.”

Recently, Taraji opened up about how she tackled mental health during the pandemic.

Taraji P. Henson, John Legend and Lizzo have added their names to a letter calling for the stop on increases to police budgets, following the death of George Floyd and increase in social unrest from this past weekend.

Called an “open demand letter”, it urges state and local governments to take the money that would go towards increasing police budgets and use it towards improving health care, education, and more programs for black communities, according to Variety.

“Black communities are living in persistent fear of being killed by state authorities like police, immigration agents or even white vigilantes who are emboldened by state actors,” the letter reads. “According to the Urban Institute, in 1977, state and local governments spent $60 billion on police and corrections. In 2017, they spent $194 billion. A 220 percent increase. Despite continued profiling, harassment, terror and killing of Black communities, local and federal decision-makers continue to invest in the police, which leaves Black people vulnerable and our communities no safer.”

“Where could that money go?” it continues. “It could go towards building healthy communities, to the health of our elders and children, to neighborhood infrastructure, to education, to childcare, to support a vibrant Black future. The possibilities are endless.”

Others who have signed include Natalie Portman, Jane Fonda, ACLU executive director Anthony Romero, and more.

You can read the full letter HERE.

If you missed it, Lizzo spoke out about the systemic racism and how she is promising to speak out about injustice.

Taraji P. Henson is doing what she can to help out during the pandemic.

The 49-year-old Empire actress chatted with Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta during a CNN special about her mental health program, in partnership with her Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, which aims to help black Americans and people of color who are suffering during the ongoing health crisis.

“When COVID happened, my heart went out and I just knew that people were suffering and they’re suffering alone in isolation,” an emotional Taraji shared. “I’m blessed. I can call my therapist. I can pay for it without thinking about it, but what about those who can’t?”

Taraji went on to acknowledge that “African Americans and people of color are disproportionately affected by not only the virus but the secondary mental health impacts associated with the virus.”

“So we created a virtual fund-raising campaign for free sessions for people of color and, you know, disadvantaged neighborhoods,” Taraji said, before pausing and getting teary-eyed. “I’m so nervous. There is so much going on right now. My brain is just…”

Taraji then talked about the impact the death of George Floyd has had on the nation.

“It’s just like, it won’t let up, you know? It’s like I’m trying to stop a bleeding wound and it just keeps bleeding, you know? But I’m raising money to help those who can’t,” Taraji continued. “It’s tragic and it’s traumatizing. And I mean, at this point it seems like we have to save ourselves…My hope is that we eradicate the stigma around mental health in the black community.”

Read what stars like Beyonce and Rihanna said while speaking out on the murder and the Black Lives Matter movement.