Taraji P. Henson is a giver.
When the Empire star was named the Best Actress – Television Series, Drama at the 2016 Golden Globes Sunday, Henson channeled her inner Cookie Lyon and passed out—what else?—cookies to attendees and fellow Golden Globe winners like Leonardo DiCaprio and Lady Gaga. "Cookies for everyone tonight—my treat," she told them. Speaking to reporters backstage, she said it was a "visceral" response to hearing her name called. "I saw them and was like, 'I guess I should hand them out.'"
During her acceptance speech, Henson began by thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. "I mean, who knew that playing an ex-convict would take me all around the globe. It just goes to show...I thought it would be Queenie, Will [Smith], my character from Karate Kid—but it's Cookie, who spent 17 years in jail for selling crack," she said. "So, the world loves real, thank you. So many people to thank...My manager...my publicist..." When the teleprompter asked her to "please wrap" her speech, Henson scoffed. "Wait a minute. I waited 20 years for this. You gon' wait," the actress said. "Yeah, you gon' give me a little more time."
Was there anyone else who should have received a cookie?
"I kind of gave them all away before I got up to the stage. There were a lot of people in that audience!" Henson told Maria Menounos during the E! After Party. "I mean, Angela Bassett, Leonardo DiCaprio...I had cookies that I wanted to give to a lot of people but I ran out." Given the chance to do it over again, Henson said she'd give one to Tom Hanks or Morgan Freeman.
Speaking to reporters backstage, Henson said she has always trusted in her talent. "I'm an extreme optimist," she said. "I came from the hood. You can't be a pessimist living in the hood."
"Let me in the room and you're going to eventually pay attention," the actress continued. "I stayed in my lane I never hated on anyone. So, what you see is someone who waited their turn."
Suffice to say, she believed winning a Golden Globe was a matter of when, not if. "I just did not expect them to call my name. I never put that much on it," she said. "You never know how it's going to come out." And regarding the "haters" who said Fox's Empire wasn't good because it centers homosexuality? "That's nonsense and its fear," she said. "The numbers speak for themselves. We just ignore it. People are dealing with this. It's not a joke. That's why it's in the script. People are struggling with this. But we're always going to have haters. Here's to all my haters. I'll send you cookies."
For more Golden Globes coverage, tune in to E! News at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.
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