Taraji P. Henson Makes Powerful Statement About Race & Gender At The Box Office

This weekend, the box office revealed something extraordinary, and Hidden Figures star Taraji P. Henson called it out.

Sunday morning, box-office earnings for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Hidden Figures had the two films running neck and neck. They were both tied, having earned an estimated $22 million each. However, as the day ended, Hidden Figures nudged its way to the very top, according to THR.

Why is that important? Allow Henson to spell it out in her own words.

"I have been told my entire career 'Black women can't open films domestically or internationally.' Well anything is possible. Most importantly this proves that PEOPLE LIKE GOOD MATERIAL. HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GENDER OR RACE. Agreed?! Thank you to everyone who supported this weekend even during the snow storm (which btw affected some of our biggest demographics). AND WE WERE IN FEWER THEATERS!!! What a proud moment!!! #HiddenFigures P.S. telling me what I can't do only makes me focus on proving nay Sayers WRONG!!!"

#GodIs I have been told my entire career "Black women can't open films domestically or internationally". Well anything is possible. Most importantly this proves that PEOPLE LIKE GOOD MATERIAL. HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GENDER OR RACE. Agreed?! Thank you to everyone who supported this weekend even during the snow storm (which btw affected some of our biggest demographics). AND WE WERE IN FEWER THEATERS!!! What a proud moment!!! #HiddenFigures🚀 💋💋💋 P.S. telling me what I can't do only makes me focus on proving nay Sayers WRONG!!! 😘

A photo posted by taraji p henson (@tarajiphenson) on Jan 9, 2017 at 8:32am PST

Henson's comments challenge a long-held belief that Black women and box-office gold don't mix. And her comment, "People like good material. Has nothing to do with gender or race," is a testament to why quality representation matters, not just through the actors shown on screen, but through the stories Hollywood chooses tell. And it's something many of us witnessed while tuning into the Golden Globes last night.

Co-stars Janelle Monae and Octavia Spencer also chimed in, sharing images of THR 's headline with their own inspiring captions.

THE FORCE WAS WITH US. It took over 50 years to tell the story of these 3 brilliant African American female protagonists. Without the research of @margotleeshetterly these women would still be hidden. This weekend we only had 2,471 theaters, while Rogue One' had 4,157 locations. We had snow storms that caused east coast region theaters to close, but #HIDDENFENCES still managed to win the race! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO BOUGHT A TICKET, BROUGHT YOUR FAMILY/FRIENDS, TOLD A FRIEND, POSTED ON SM, prayed for this film, etc. WE ARE Forever forever THANKFUL. WE DID THIS TOGETHER! Mary, Katherine, Dorothy and all the colored and human computers at NASA who took America to space are HIDDEN NO MORE. WE WILL NOT BE ERASED. 🙏🏿❤😭#hiddenfigures🚀 #starwars #rogueone Side note: I think it's awesome that two movies about space were dueling it out. Y'all know I'm a space Sci fi geek for life .🚀

A photo posted by Janelle Monáe (@janellemonae) on Jan 9, 2017 at 9:01am PST

Thanks to everyone who saw the value in seeing this story told and finally giving these heroines their due!!! The force was with us!!!! Thanks for supporting us and them!!! #HiddenFigures

A photo posted by Octavia Spencer (@therealoctaviaspencer) on Jan 9, 2017 at 8:15am PST

Here's hoping Henson's sentiments are embraced more widely in the future.

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