-You know, this is --
this is your 14th appearance on our show,
and I'm so grateful. -It is?
[ Cheers and applause ] -Isn't that wild?
-Wow. -I --
-Thank you. I have to thank you
because when you're first getting started,
it's not easy to book these shows,
and you've been in my corner since the very beginning,
so I thank you.
-We've been through a lot. -We have been
through a lot together. [ Laughs ]
-Last time I saw you,
we did an episode of "That's My Jam" in L.A.
-Yes. -And you were fantastic.
-Thank you. -Blew the audience away.
-You always give me great songs, though.
-Yeah. Well, we got to make it good.
I'm sorry about the water. -[ Sighs ]
-Well, you know, here's the thing.
You knew that was going to happen, right?
-I'm never prepared for it. [ Laughter ]
You can't wet Black women's hair like that.
I told you that, Jimmy.
We turn into Chia Pets right in front of your very eyes.
You have to give us a heads-up.
-You were so -- like, 'cause we give you protective glasses.
Like... -I need a shower cap.
[ Laughter ] An umbrella.
-Next time -- Next time we can do that.
-Yes. -You know, I follow you
on the on the socials,
and I saw this amazing photo of you here.
Explain what was happening here. [ Audience cheering ]
-I mean -- -Yeah, exactly.
-You may have heard of Beyoncé. I don't know.
-Yeah, absolutely. -Well, the thing about it is,
I had already had my outfit picked out
for her show months in advance, and then she does this,
"Oh, it's my birthday. Let's all wear silver."
[ Laughter ]
So, I mean, my house is being renovated,
all of my clothes are in storage,
and I randomly happened to just buy this
off of those Instagram shopping pages.
[ Laughter ]
And when it came, I was about to throw it away
because it was like paper thin. You could see through it.
But at the end of the day, that's all I had for Beyoncé.
It was kind of silver, had silver sparklies on it.
Long story short, I had to throw it away at the end of the night
because it had snags and holes and...
[ Laughter ]
But thanks, Instagram Shopping!
[ Laughter ]
-I mean, who else can pull this off?
-I pulled it off.
-I can't even imagine seeing the concert with you
because I think that you would end up on stage.
[ Laughter ]
And I'll tell you why. -Why?
-Because I have a photo of you on stage with Usher.
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheering ]
How do you end up -- Of course this is you.
How do you end up on stage with Usher?
-Okay, well, it was my birthday, and my girls
and I decided to celebrate in Vegas.
And we were going to the Usher concert,
and I kind of knew something was going to happen
because they were like, "Sit in this seat!"
I know what the camera seats are.
So I sat in the seat. I was so excited.
And he came to the stage, and he wasn't ready to call me up yet.
And he looked over my way and he was like,
"I see you, Taraji," and I thought that was my cue,
so I ran up on the stage before --
[ Laughter ] -He's like --
-And he didn't say anything.
-"I see -- Oh, she's coming up!"
-Usher is a female magnet.
I don't know if you know this, but you're like drawn to him.
So cut to I'm in Paris, Fashion Week,
and he's performing there.
And he's in the audience doing his thing again,
and he sees Pharrell. And you know I know Pharrell.
And so he says, "Hey," he gives Pharrell his flowers.
Then he looks across, and he goes,
"Is that Taraji P. Henson?"
And I swear to God, I took off running.
And there's something about him. He's a magnet.
But you come in twerking. [ Laughter ]
Promise you! Look at all the footage.
It's not just me!
[ Laughter ]
-The way you walk up to Usher, you just --
-You just come in twerking. -You just end up twerking.
-That's how it happens.
He's a magnet, and he pulls it out of you.
I don't twerk. -Oh, my God.
-In public. -Yeah, in public.
[ Laughter ]
I want to talk to you about a couple things,
because during the pandemic,
you were nice enough to me and the show.
You Zoomed in when we couldn't leave the house or get guests.
And you were showing me this.
You're like, "I'm starting this new line out of my kitchen."
-Oh, yes. -Let's talk about this.
This is TPH. -Yes.
-Okay.
Taraji P. Henson, beauty products, hair...
-Hair and skin. -And skin.
-Yeah. -And by the way,
it's taken off now.
"Allure" magazine, you got the Best of Beauty award.
[ Cheers and applause ]
It was three years ago? -Yeah.
-That's a lot of hard work
-We launched during the pandemic.
But I think, you know, my brand, I --
Guys, I also launched a mental-health foundation
named after my father,
Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation,
because in the Black and Brown community,
we really don't talk about it, and we're dying.
And so it's to eradicate the stigma
around mental wellness in the community.
But also during the pandemic, everybody was going through it.
We were all feeling some kind of way depressed
and not feeling like ourselves,
and people were afraid to be out amongst each other.
And so I wanted to create a spa-like feeling
with products that you can afford.
-There's a lot of work. That's three years and now --
-We're everywhere -- Walmart, CVS, Target.
-I'm so happy for you. -Yeah. Sally.
-It couldn't happen to a better person.
-Thank you.
-And it's a good cause behind it, too.
Let's talk about "Jaja." -Oh, guys...
-This is a big deal. Just opened tonight.
I'm honored that you're here with us tonight.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-My first time on Broadway as a producer.
-"Jaja's African Hair Braiding." -It's amazing.
-Can you explain what it's about?
-So, for me, what I love about this
is that I grew up in Washington, D.C.
We didn't have a lot of African braiding salons, right?
So I was always over at Pookie or Peaches or somebody's cousin
sitting in between their legs getting my hair braided.
So this was an eye-opener for me.
But what struck me as most interesting
is these women who are literally like hidden figures,
and they work in these braiding salons
in fear of being deported every day.
And I never -- When you think about deportation
or ICE, all we see are the Latin faces.
We never see other communities
that are affected by deportation.
So that brought -- made me aware of these humans in another way.
I will never go to Harlem and bypass one of these
African hair-braiding places without at least
sticking my head in, saying hi or something,
because these are real people with real lives.
And this -- this is a really big piece of our culture.
I remember working at the Pentagon.
I would show up one day with my hair short,
and the next day, I come in with braids like this,
and they'd be like, "Yesterday..."
and I'd be like, "I ate my spinach."
[ Laughter ]
But this is a great play.
If you want to know how Black hair works, come see the play.
-There you go, yeah.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I will. -Yeah, but it's a play
by women, for women. You know, we rock, women, so...
-You do. [ Cheers and applause ]
And I will say, Manhattan Theatre Club
just announced that the show is getting
extended for another week.
Congratulations to you, bud! -It's that good.
Really good. -Taraji P. Henson!
"Jaja's African Hair Braiding" is now playing
at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater on Broadway!