Taraji P. Henson might just be the hottest woman in Hollywood right now. Empire debuted in January and already it is a clear-cut, pop-culture phenomenon. Henson has helped the show's ratings skyrocket with her on-point portrayal of Cookie Lyon and, let's face it, if you have not seen her in action, then you are missing out. While this role has made Henson a household name, she has been around for years. Fans of Person of Interest who were crushed when her streetwise Detective Jocelyn Carter was killed off last season are probably glad now because it made her available when Empire was casting. While the actress's career is on the upswing, she is still surprisingly single. In fact, she said she will not "claim" a man without a ring on her finger.
Henson sat down to chat with Steve Harvey the other day about why it is that we never see a man on her arm. As it turns out, her standards are extremely high and there will be no public parade of men in her near future.
"I'm a grown woman. If there's nothing on this ring finger, if this ring finger is naked no one gets claimed. You don't get claimed. You don't get claimed until you claim me. Period! You don't get to say, 'I dated Taraji P. Henson.' You don't get to go on a red carpet and share that part of my life. Because now today with all of this social media it's not private," she said.
"And then I have a son. I don't want them to be like, 'Your mom dates this one and this one and this and this.' I can't do that. I can't afford that because when I finally meet the one, he's going to be like, 'Wait a minute, you a hoe! You been with this one, this one.' [And I'm like,] 'No I wasn't' and he's going to be like, 'Lemme go look it up. Here it is! You kissing him at this restaurant ... and I can't do that," explained Henson.
So basically, the next man who we see Henson with on a red carpet will likely have already put a ring on it. Is she smart to be so cautious about who she lets in to that part of her life? It is more normal to see the parade of dates and casual relationships in Hollywood then to have an actress shut that part of her life down.
What are your thoughts on Henson's perspective? It sounds pretty wise to make sure of a man's intentions before anyone connects him with her, don't you think? Do you think Henson learned the hard way that this is really in her best interests? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
