USC Responds to Taraji P. Henson's Account of Son Getting Racially Profiled on Campus: This Is Deeply Disturbing

''As someone who personally experienced racial profiling as a teenager, I have a stake in...doing all I can to reach a just resolution," said Department of Public Safety Director John Thomas

Taraji P. Henson's worry for her son's safety caught the attention of many—including the school she spoke against.

The Empire star made headlines earlier this week after stating during an interview with Uptown magazine that she's decided against sending her 20-year-old son Marcel to the University of Southern California because he was racially profiled on campus.

That experience troubled officials of the college, especially USC's Department of Public Safety Director John Thomas, who revealed in a response to the star's "disturbing" story that he has been a victim of racial profiling himself.

"I was deeply disturbed to read news reports about a prospective student who felt profiled on or near campus because of his race. We encourage reporting of allegations of bias and I hope for the opportunity to have a conversation with the young man and his mother," Thomas said in a statement released to various news media outlets.

"I would like to look into this matter further and better understand who was involved and what took place. As someone who personally experienced racial profiling as a teenager, I have a stake in learning more about this incident and doing all I can to reach a just resolution," he continued.

"It is not clear to me which police departments were involved. Any allegation of bias or unequal treatment by university officers would trigger an investigation that I would supervise along with the university's Office of Equity and Diversity. It is my expectation and that of the university that our department uphold the highest standards of constitutional policing, affording equal rights and respect to all persons."

After sharing that her son was racially profiled in Glendale, Calif., Henson said, "Then he's at University of Southern California, the school that I was going to transfer him to, when police stopped him for having his hands in his pockets."

Taraji then revealed that she's opted to send her son to her alma mater, Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, D.C., instead. "So guess where he's going? Howard University. I'm not paying $50K so I can't sleep at night wondering, 'Is this the night my son is getting racially profiled on campus?'"

Her decision apparently sparked some controversy on the Twittersphere, to which Henson wrote, "I really don't care what ppl think about what I do with MY LIFE AND ALL INVOLVED WITH ME!!!!! Give it a rest."

C'mon, guys, you know better than to cross Cookie Lyon!