Taraji P. Henson is looking back at one of her viral moments.
After Viola Davis won an Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for her role in “How to Get Away With Murder,” Henson jumped up out of her seat to hug her.
Henson was nominated for the same award for playing the vivacious Cookie Lyon in “Empire," and soon, the sweet hug between friends was everywhere.
Henson tells TODAY.com she was surprised to see so much coverage of the moment.
“I was annoyed that was a headline because I was like, that’s what I do,” she says. “Isn’t that what you do? Like, applaud people that you love. Come on. Why is that a headline?”
But, Henson explains, what most people didn't know at the time was that she and Davis had a strong friendship that dates back to at least 2009, when Henson fought for the now Oscar-winner to share the May cover of Ebony magazine with her.
"Viola knows the love we have for each other because I remember —and she tweeted about this one time," she says, referring to Davis' 2019 post in which she wished Henson a happy birthday and thanked her for insisting that they share the cover together.
"I remember I got offered the cover of Ebony magazine, and they wanted to pair — and this was the year that we both were nominated for the Oscar at the same time — and they wanted to pair me with some other women," Henson says. "And I was like, does that make sense to you? When we have ... two Back women nominated in the same same category. Why not Viola? And so I fought for her to get on that cover. She never forgot that."
"So she knows the love — and the love, it’s mutual for us," she adds.
Henson has been keeping a similar energy over the years supporting other Black women, including singer and actor Chlöe Bailey, who stopped by TODAY April 6, the same day of Henson's appearance.
"I couldn't let this moment go without giving you props, you did a really good job," Henson said, before giving the singer a hug.
Henson spoke on TODAY about her latest efforts in the mental health and wellness space. She discussed the new partnership between the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation and Kate Spade New York as well as the launch of She Care Wellness Pods, a new initiative that aims to provide over 25,000 Black women on HBCU campuses with frontline mental wellness care.
"When I was in college, they didn't have anything like this," Henson said on TODAY. "So if I knew someone suffering, I wouldn't even know where to tell them to go."
The actor also shared details about the new pods and what students can expect to find at this "safe space."
"They're rest pods, if you need to decompress. They have classes - they have yoga classes, art, dance," she said. "We teach cycle therapy to students and just make them more aware and being comfortable with talking and expressing how they are feeling mentally."
Aside from that important work, Henson has also dabbled in the entrepreneurial space, creating fun tutorial videos in support of her hair care line, TPH by Taraji.
"I wanted to make it affordable, and exciting and colorful," she tells TODAY.com, before adding that she also hoped to educate women of color and women with curly hair about a better approach to maintenance.
"Like we know how to take care of our hair, put it away and wear these hair protective styles. But no one is really educating women on how to take care of their hair — let alone their scalp," she adds.
