Taraji P. Henson ‘didn’t have the words’ to tell son about dad’s murder

On 'Peace of Mind with Taraji,' Henson got emotional recounting a heartbreaking experience no parent should face.

Jan 6, 2021

Academy Award-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson breaks down in tears on her Facebook Watch show as she talks about the death of her son’s father.

On today’s episode of Peace of Mind with Taraji, she cries as she recounted telling her son, Marcell, how his father died.

Actor Taraji P. Henson — On her show “Peace of Mind with Taraji,” actress Taraji P. Henson recently shared the difficulty of her experience telling her son his father died. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for dcp)

“My son’s father was suddenly taken, murdered when he was nine, and I didn’t know how to tell him that,” Henson, 50, tells co-host Tracie Jade Jenkins and therapist Sierra Hillsman. “I couldn’t tell him he was murdered, so I told him he died in an accident.”

The actress shared that her son, who’s now 26, confronted her later in life after finding out the truth on his own.

“He came back to me and was like, ‘Why didn’t you tell me my daddy was murdered?'” she said. “And so, then we had to get therapy.”

On her show, which is focused on mental health in the Black community, Henson asked Hillsman how parents should manage difficult conversations. The therapist advised her they should “use age-appropriate language” and explain that “sometimes there are situations where people do evil things to other people.”

“It wouldn’t come out. I hid it. I read the actual …” Henson admits as she starts to tear up, and Jenkins comforts her. “It was in the paper, and I didn’t know how to tell him. He was stabbed to death. It was the worst way you could die. I just didn’t have the words. I didn’t know how to tell a nine-year-old.”

Peace of Mind launched in December, with Henson and her close friend, Jenkins, at the helm.

Wednesday’s episode, the second part of “Grief After Sudden Death,” also features rapper Asian Doll, whose boyfriend, King Von, was murdered last year.

The first episode on the topic features Obasi Jackson, whose brother, Pop Smoke, was killed in February.

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