“Taraji P. Henson Made ‘Less Than 2 Percent’ of What Brad Pitt Did in Benjamin Button”
“Henson describes feeling humiliated by the process, but also pressured into taking the part, because of the scarcity of complex roles for black women. Henson writes:
The math really is pretty simple: there are way more talented black actresses than there are intelligent, meaningful roles for them, and we’re consistently charged with diving for the crumbs of the scraps, lest we starve.
This is exactly how a studio can get away with paying the person who’s name is third on the call sheet of a big-budget film less than 2 percent what it’s paying the person whose name is listed first.”