Taraji P. Henson’s ‘Annoyed’ Appearance Has Fans Speculating She’s Having a Feud With Samuel L. Jackson and Terrence Howard

Taraji P. Henson’s behavior during a recent interview left viewers suspecting there have been tensions brewing between her and her “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” castmates Samuel L. Jackson and Terrence Howard.

On September 6, Extra released a video clip of an interview with Henson, Jackson, Howard, Kevin Hart, and Don Cheadle in regards to the film “Fight Night.”

Additional correspondent Mona Kosar noted that Henson had worked with other actors on the show before, aside from Jackson.

While the lads talked about their shared experiences, Taraji remained silent.

“It’s always a collaborative space. It’s not a space where the actors aren’t talking and are trying to surprise you with some shit,” Jackson, 75, said as his colleagues nodded in agreement.

Henson and Howard played lead roles in the tv series Empire as Loretha “Cookie” Lyon and Lucious Lyon, respectively, from 2015 to 2020. They have also appeared within the movies Hustle & Flow, Four Brothers and Term Life.

He and Hart starred within the movies Not Easily Broken, Think Like a Man and its sequel.

Despite talk of unity and harmony, many social media users believed Henson was uncomfortable or annoyed. BFA Collective shared a clip of the conversation on Instagram.

A commenter wrote, “I’ve never seen Taraji have this much energy in an interview. I wonder what’s going on.” Another person added, “Taraji is withdrawn as an actress.”

Several people online speculated about a possible rift between Henson and Jackson. For example, one commented, “Taraji looks like she didn’t fuck Sam.”

However, the respondent wrote, “I said the same thing, but she looks annoyed when Terrence talks.” A like-minded person assumed, “I think it’s Terrence.”

In an interview with Extra, Kosar brought up photos of Howard’s hair from the film “Fight Night,” which went viral in April 2024. The query in regards to the wardrobe from the film led to Henson teasing Howard and Jackson.

“The one thing Terrence is going to compete with you on is hair,” the Oscar-nominated actress said. Henson turned to Jackson and said, “I wonder where he got that. … I’d like to see your wig closet,” and then laughed.

When asked about reuniting with Howard for Fight Night after their previous projects together, Henson replied, “It was very different because we didn’t have many scenes together. I barely saw him.”

Howard also claimed that they mostly kept their distance from one another during filming because their characters had “totally different natures,” which affected their real-life relationship. He said he desired to hug Henson when he saw her on set, but decided against it.

Jackson recalled that Henson didn’t interact with Howard until the top of filming: “And one time they took you down to the basement and everyone was there. But you didn’t look at anyone that day.”

Henson checked out Howard and said bluntly, “I really had to pretend your butt wasn’t there.”

Despite the apparent awkwardness, a YouTube commenter found the solid’s interactions in the course of the interview to be light-hearted, writing, “I love the chemistry… it’s like a black family reunion in the backyard.”

Peacock’s Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist premiered on the streaming service on September 5. The final episode of the Shaye Ogbonna-created limited series will air on October 10.