Taraji P. Henson Gets Emotional Saying She's Underpaid In Hollywood

Taraji P. Henson is tired of working her butt off in Hollywood and being paid a fraction of what she feels she's worth ... getting emotional over what she says is a huge pay gap.

The actress broke down in tears when asked if she was seriously considering quitting acting, telling Gayle King she feels uncertain about her on-screen career, and money's the main factor.

Taraji says she's still being underpaid for big movie roles despite being a well-established and super famous actress ... reaching a boiling point.

The way Taraji explains it ... even if she's paid $10 million for a movie, she won't see anywhere near that when the dust settles ... taxes take a huge chunk and then she's got to break off a bunch of money for her team.

Taraji says ... "the math ain't mathin" .... and it sounds like this has been an issue for her going back a while now.

In her interview with Gayle, in which she's plugging her new movie "The Color Purple," Taraji recalls her contract for 'Benjamin Button' ... she says she was asking for $500,000 and was only paid $100,000.

Taraji's gone on to do tons of movies and win awards, but she says every time she thinks she's broken through, she's humbled at the negotiating table.