The actress founded the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in 2018 in honor of her father, who struggled with his mental health.
Taraji P. Henson is working on a totally different new project for a good cause. The 50-year-old Empire star is hosting a new Facebook Watch talk show that will focus on mental health. The show is currently called Peace of Mind With Taraji and will begin production later this year.
Henson will co-host the show with her longtime best friend, Tracie Jade Jenkins. The show will "shine a spotlight on the challenging mental health issues facing us today – particularly of those in the Black community," according to the press release. It will feature interviews with both celebrities and everyday people.
The show is part of Facebook's push to support mental and emotional health in advance of World Mental Health Day, which is Saturday, Oct. 10 this year.
Though this project is very different from Henson's past work, she's no stranger to working with mental health advocacy. Henson previously founded The Boris Lawrence Foundation in 2018 in honor of her father, Boris Lawrence Henson, who struggled with his mental health as a result of his tour of duty in the Vietnam War.
“I’ve long been a mental health advocate for the Black community and created the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in 2018 that has provided resources to thousands of people who are struggling,” Henson said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to bringing this new talk series to Facebook Watch, where I can continue to create conversation around an issue that is near and dear to my heart.”
Henson's show will be joining hit Facebook Watch shows like Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith and her family.
Henson opened up about her focus on mental health during an emotional May interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Gupta.
"When COVID happened, my heart went out and I just knew that people were suffering and they're suffering alone in isolation," she expressed. "I'm blessed. I can call my therapist. I can pay for it without thinking about it, but what about those who can't?"
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