Taraji P. Henson Reveals Why She Left ‘Person Of Interest’
In 2011, Person of Interest premiered on CBS and introduced the world to Detective Jocelyn “Joss” Carter, played by Taraji P. Henson. Henson spent three seasons on the show as a part of the main cast and was later credited as a guest star during the fourth season before ultimately deciding to step away from the show. Her exit came as a shock to fans, and Henson is finally opening up about her decision to leave, according to a report from TV Line.
While sitting down for a chat with fellow actor, Grey’s Anatomy’s Ellen Pompeo, during one of Variety’s annual Actor on Actor conversations, Henson hinted that the reason she left Person of Interest was because it was stealing her joy.
“I had to leave a show before, and it was the most money I’d ever seen in my life, and I was so miserable. It was stealing my joy. I just remember praying to God: ‘God, I’m not happy creatively.’
“[T]he next day, I called the producer. He got it. And I walked away, not even knowing where I was going,” she continued. “I ended up doing a play in Pasadena.”
Henson didn’t name the show, but two weeks after her Person of Interest exit, it was revealed that she would be appearing in Above the Fold at the Pasadena Playhouse.
Since then, Henson has been linked to numerous film and TV projects, including the popular Fox series Empire.
The show, which was created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, tells the story of a musical African-American family and their journey to fame and fortune. The family is helmed by former drug dealer, rapper, and CEO of Empire Entertainment, Lucious Lyon, played by Terrence Howard, and his ex-wife Loretha “Cookie” Lyon, née Holloway, played by Henson.
As a result of her husband’s illegal activities, Cookie ends up having to leave her three sons behind after being sentenced to 17 years in prison. After her release, the family must learn to overcome their differences and come together to run their company.
Empire is expected to return for its sixth and final season, as previously reported by The Inquisitr. However, the show has no intention of bringing back the middle Lyon son, Jamal, played by Jussie Smollett.
Smollett was removed from the series after claiming he was attacked while walking the streets of Chicago. The actor said the attack was a hate crime, but there wasn’t enough evidence to support his claims. He was later charged with filing a false police report, but the charges were soon dropped, as previously reported by The Inquisitr.
