Taraji P. Henson Says ‘Toxic Hood Love’ in ‘Baby Boy’ Was Like Her Relationship With Late Boyfriend

Taraji P. Henson was overwhelmed by the tragic murder of her son's late father while filming 2001 drama Baby Boy.

The hood classic was brought up in the Tuesday (August 5) episode of Lena Waithe's Legacy Talk podcast, where Henson reflected on her breakout role in the John Singleton-directed project. The actress played Yvette, the headstrong girlfriend of Jody (Tyrese Gibson), a misguided 20-year-old living in Los Angeles.

Around the seven-minute mark of the video below, Henson said the "dysfunctional relationship" was accurate to her reality.

"There were times when I read that script where I got goosebumps and I had to put it down because it was literally the blueprint to my baby's father and I's relationship," she told Waithe. "That young love, that young toxic hood love. I mean, verbatim."

Henson recalled that the murder of her then-boyfriend, William LaMarr "Mark" Johnson, was similar to a scene where Yvette cried during nightmares of Jody dying. With Johnson, who was stabbed to death in 2003 at 34 years old, Henson has a son, Marcell, who was born in 1994.

"I remember when my son's father was murdered, I called John, and I said, 'The dream came true,'" Henson said.

"When anyone goes the ['What's the] closest role to you,' that probably was it," Henson continued. "And I kind of got chastised a little bit, 'cause people were like, 'Where did they find her? She's not a real actor. They found this girl off the street.' And for so long I was known as that girl from Baby Boy. Like no one would know my name."

During a 2021 episode of former Facebook Watch show Peace of Mind with Taraji, the actress recounted not knowing how to tell her son about his father's murder. Marcell, who would have been 9 years old at the time, was told that Johnson was in an accident.

"Later on in life he found out and he came back to me and was like, 'Why didn't you tell me my daddy was murdered?'" she said on the episode. "And so then we had to get therapy."