UPTOWN Magazine’s February/April issue cover star, Taraji P. Henson issued a public apology to the Glendale, California police department for accusing them of racially profiling her 20-year-old son.
The accusations were initially made in an interview in our latest issue where Ms. Henson speaks of her son’s run in with police officers saying,
“My child has been racially profiled. He was in Glendale, California and did exactly everything the cops told him to do, including letting them illegally search his car. It was bogus because they didn’t give him the ticket for what he was pulled over for. Then he’s at University of Southern California, the school that I was going to transfer him to, when police stopped him for having his hands in his pockets. So guess where he’s going? Howard University. I’m not paying $50K so I can’t sleep at night wondering is this the night my son is getting racially profiled on campus.”
Back in October Taraji’s son, Johnson was pulled over in Glendale for failing to yield to a pedestrian at a cross walk. During the run-in with officers Johnson agreed to have his car searched, a search where officers found marijuana and paraphernalia.
After her remarks became public, both the Glendale Police Department and the University of Southern California addressed her allegations. Glendale Police released dash cam video of the encounter on Friday. The footage clearly contradicts her son’s claims.
In response to Henson’s allegations, Police Chief Robert Castro says, “Misinformation that was reported in the story in Uptown Magazine with Taraji P. Henson impairs and weakens the relationships between law enforcement and the communities.”
John Thomas the Public Safety Director at the University of Southern California has also expressed his concern with the incident, saying “We encourage reporting of allegations of bias and I hope for the opportunity to have a conversation with the young man and his mother.”
Now Taraji is making a statement of her own. Click next to see what the Empire’s formidable Cookie Lyon star had to say.
In a message she posted to her Instagram account, Taraji addressed her comments in UPTOWN Magazine and issued a public apology.
“I would like to publicly apologize to the officer and the Glendale Police Department. A mother’s job is not easy and neither is a police officer’s. Sometimes as humans WE overreact without gathering all of the facts. As a mother in this case I overreacted and for that I apologize.”