Taraji talks racist Hollywood: Naomi Watts took her role
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According to a new excerpt obtained by USA Today, Henson also reveals that one of her movie roles was ultimately given to fellow actress Naomi Watts.
The 46-year-old Empire star's book includes a chapter titled "On Being a Black Woman in Hollywood," in which she discusses the incident, according to USA Today.
"Time and again, I've lost roles because someone with the ability to green-light a film couldn't see black women beyond a very limited purview he or she thought 'fit' audience expectations," Henson writes in the memoir.
According to the star, St. Vincent screenwriter and director Theodore Melfi wrote the role of a pregnant Russian stripper in the 2014 comedy specifically for Henson, but the part was later filled by Watts, 48.
"It was a meaty gig," the Golden Globe winner writes in Around the Way Girl. "I would have loved it. Alas, I couldn't get served at that particular restaurant."