Tom Hanks eased Taraji P. Henson's nerves after Oscars performance
Tom Hanks eased actress Taraji P. Henson's nerves after she was left "embarrassed" following her performance of Hustle & Flow song It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp during the Academy Awards.
The Empire star, along with co-star Terrence Howard and rappers Three 6 Mafia and Cedric Coleman, took to the stage during the Oscars prizegiving in 2006 to perform the hit track, which won Best Original Song at the ceremony.
But Henson admits she felt extremely uncomfortable singing it at
the annual event, particularly because of its subject matter.
In an interview on chat show The Talk, Henson explained, "It was
quite embarrassing, because there are people there that I really
admire like Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, and I'm up on stage singing
about pimps and whores at the most conservative show on television.
But they were out there rocking! As I was singing the song, I just
looked above everyone's head."
Following the performance, Henson ran into nice guy Hanks, who
helped the actress relax after the nerve-wracking experience.
She said, "When I went backstage, I saw Tom Hanks. I said, 'I'm so
sorry! I'm just singing about Bs (b**ches) and hoes and pimps and
he pulled his publicist over and said, 'Oh that's okay! I call her
a B everyday!
"But that's just a testament of how sweet he is. He just made me
feel so much better about it. I was like, 'Okay, if you say
so!'"