A look into Tyrese’s relationship with his old co-star and good friend Taraji P. Henson.
Actors Tyrese and Taraji P. Henson go way back from their Baby Boy days. And since then, the singer believed that everyone was waiting to see their friendship blossom into something more. Although they never dated, Tyrese quipped that he didn’t feel too comfortable watching Henson with other men on screen.
Tyrese made his life-changing film debut in the 2001 film Baby Boy. The movie not only introduced the artist to the world of acting, but he forged deep connections with the cast and crew. He especially bonded with his Baby Boy co-star Henson, who became more than a lifelong friend.
“That’s my baby. We always get together for lunches and dinners and connect,” he once told The New York Daily News. “I’m always at her house, she’s at my house. It’s love. I’m very, very honored to tell the world we’re still family and we still connected and hang out beyond that Baby Boy set.”
Baby Boy wasn’t the only project he and Henson worked on. They were both cast in the 2005 feature Four Brothers, which was also directed by John Singleton. They also worked together in the music video for the Tyrese song “Stay,” where they played a couple for the second time. The singer was initially supposed to work with Henson again for an episode of Henson’s hit series Empire. But Gibson couldn’t commit to the series because of personal reasons.
“I was supposed to be on season one of Empire, and I was in and out of court fighting for a personal matter with my 7-year-old, so I wasn’t able to do the show. That’s the truth,” Tyrese once told HuffPost. “Taraji and Lee Daniels were very, very disappointed — and I was too — that I couldn’t do it”.
Tyrese would’ve made a good fit for Empire given his music background. The hit television series starred Terrence Howard as Lucious Lyon, the shrewd and sometimes ruthless record executive. Henson famously played Howard’s wife, Cookie Lyon, in the show.
Because of Tyrese’s bond with Henson, he joked that he took issue with the intimacy Henson had with Howard on screen. Which was something he admittedly needed to find a way to deal with.
“I don’t like Terrence [Howard] kissing all over her. It bothers me, and we’re gonna have to figure this s*** out,” he said.
They may have played a tumultuous couple in Baby Boy, but that didn’t reflect their real off screen partnership. However, Tyrese felt that didn’t stop most fans from fantasizing about them getting together. Similarly to Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in The Notebook.
