Academy Award Nominee Taraji P. Henson stars alongside Idris Elba as a woman who fights for her family’s survival in the midst of a violent home invasion in the new thriller film No Good Deed.
Henson joined Chris Witherspoon for an MSNBC.com exclusive interview to discuss her upcoming film and how it parallels some of the latest domestic violence stories in the news as well as Hollywood’s role in the representation of African-Americans on television.
Henson says that the film will empower women to fight back when faced with such adverse situations.
“I think [No Good Deed] is an example of, ‘you don’t have to be the victim. You can always fight back.’ I’m fighting back. I’ve been a victim of domestic abuse… I think sometimes you have to know when to walk away. We get a little overwhelmed by men’s size, but there’s always weapons.”
The Think Like a Man star also weighed in on the footage obtained by TMZ of NFL running back Ray Rice punching his then-fiance (now wife), Janay Palmer, in an elevator on February 15.
“I saw it. It was hard to watch,” she said.
Henson says she believes professional organizations should institute a zero tolerance policy when it comes to domestic violence but also feels women have a responsibility to “keep their hands to themselves too.”
“Violence against women … that’s something that has been going on since the beginning of time,” Henson said. “I think sometimes when it happens it’s because of someone’s insecurity.”
“Women have to learn that they have to keep their hands to themselves too, because when you match masculine energy with masculine energy, that’s what your going to get. But at the end of the day, you still teach your sons to walk away, because it’s a girl.”
No Good Deed opens in theaters nationwide this Friday.
Follow Chris Witherspoon on Twitter for more entertainment news at @WitherspoonC.