Taraji P. Henson, “Cookie Lyons,” cried “the math ain’t mathing. ” She proceeded to reveal her ongoing plight with pay disparities in Hollywood which had led her to contemplate quitting acting entirely. It was sad and shocking to watch.

The discussion on the pay disparities that Black women face in Hollywood is not new. In every major industry in the United States, Black women lag behind their white female counterparts and Black men. Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer stated on the “Women Breaking Barriers" panel at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 that “women of color… make far less than white women. So if we’re going to have that conversation, we’ve got to bring the women of color to the table.”

Spencer was referring to a conversation she engaged in with “The Help" co-star actress Jessica Chastain. It was through the campaigning of Chastain that Octavia Spencer was able to receive “five times" her initial pay for her role in “Hidden Figures.” Henson went on the reveal during a Sirius XM interview with Gayle King that she is “tired of working so hard, being gracious at what I do, and getting paid a fraction of the cost.”

Taraji P. Henson’s transparency is what caught everyone off guard, especially when she dropped the bombshell revelation she that nearly turned down the iconic role of “Shug Avery" in the musical film “The Color Purple” because of pay disparities. In another interview, Henson put on blast the film’s producers for the lack of proper treatment and respect for the Black actresses of “The Color Purple” cast on set. According to Henson, there were no drivers, no food, and all the actresses shared one trailer. Henson felt it was necessary to speak up about the dire conditions, getting in touch with one of the film’s power producers, Oprah Winfrey.

The conversation becomes nuanced and even more problematic when Winfrey enters the chat because it is hard to bend the mind to the fact that of all people, she would be the so-called “champion" of Black actresses that she claims to be. But only when Henson notified Winfrey that the “Purple” actresses were facing those challenges did the billionaire media mogul act. That shocking tidbit of information overshadowed the film’s premiere and left everyone gagging. The prelude to Taraji’s transparency was the bomb drop heard around the world by none other than the beautiful ex-girlfriend, former Bad Boy artist Cassie.

In a look inside her multimillion-dollar lawsuit, Cassie revealed the living nightmare that she allegedly endured at the hands of Bad Boy impresario and CEO Sean “Puffy" Combs. The lawsuit gave the world a glimpse into the alleged life of a young, beautiful starlet seeking her fortune in the music industry, only to be preyed upon by the Svengali who promised to make her a star. For ten years Cassie allegedly suffered previously unknown horrors and was willing to take the lawsuit and more revelations to court. But as we all know, Diddy quickly settled with Cassie less than 24 hours away for mega undisclosed millions.

While we were still getting over the Cassie shocker, actor and producer Christian Keyes hopped on Instagram to do a little more truth-telling about his experiences in Hollywood. Transparency and revelations were the topics of the hour when Keyes, who got his big break in a Tyler Perry stage play 20 years ago, revealed that for years he has endured serial sexual harassment from a “powerful man, a Black man who is a billionaire.” With tears in his eyes he said, “I’m tired of this. Tired.” Keyes is the creator and executive producer of the hit BET+ series “All The Queen’s Men” based on his novel “Ladies Night,” which is also executive produced and written by Perry. Keyes further gagged everyone with the bomb that he has video and audio proof and plans to instigate legal action.

Then comedian Katt Williams burned down what was left of the Internet with his nearly three-hour interview with former NFL star athlete Shannon Sharp inside of “Shay Shay’s Club” on YouTube where he spilled gallons of Hollywood tea about Black Hollywood comedians and the alleged injustices and “outright lies” that he has endured at their hands. Williams covered topics such as the alleged theft of his material by Steve Harvey and Cedric the Entertainer, an Illuminati meeting with Hollywood executives attended by Williams and Hip-Hop artist Ludacris, and radio host Ricky Smiley’s claims that he was given the role of pimp “Money Mike” in the movie “Friday After Next.” No one disputed Williams’ claims directly; instead the narrative is to dismiss him because of his alleged substance abuse issues suggesting he could not be trusted. That was until Internet sleuths started posting corroborating video evidence that Williams wasn’t lying after all.

On the heels of Kat Williams comes R&B diva and gospel music artist Kelly Price who decided to chose verbal violence instead of silence on social media when a commentor suggested that she needed to be “delivered.” Price decided that she was going to do some truth-telling of her own. She fired back with “the nerve you have. I was the only artist/judge on Sunday Best [BET gospel competition] that wasn’t **** someone else’s spouse, fornicating, or messing with kids and boys but you have smoke for me?” What is going on?

Is truth-telling and transparency the fad that will continue to trend? Is this what Black America wants? More truth, more accountability, more transparency? Are we really prepared to hear the raw truth about the public entertainment figures that we place on a pedestal? Will this trend spill over into politics? Democrats, catch a clue. This is how you will win in ’24.