Longtime mental health advocate shares how she revealed to her son the truth behind his dad's death. It took her a long time before she found the courage to admit to her son that his dad got murdered.
Taraji P. Henson said during a new preview of her Wednesday episode of "Pease of Mind with Taraji" how she told her son the truth. She said that her son's father, William LaMarr "Mark" Johnson, got murdered when her son, Marcell Johnson, was only nine.
The 50-year-old could not tell her child the truth, so she told him that his dad died in an accident. Her now 26-year-old son, later on, learned about the real reason his dad had died.
The Oscar nominee said that her son came back to her when he found out the truth and asked her why she hid the reason behind his dad's death. So the duo took therapy to recover from the loss.
Could not bring to tell the real death reason
The "Empire" star explained how tearful she was upon seeing the news of her ex's murder in a newspaper. She saw how Mark was stabbed to death, and she could not bring the tragic news to her son. She did not know how to tell the breaking news to her then nine-year-old son.
The "Hidden Figures" star told "Sunday TODAY's" Willie Geist that she launched a Facebook Watch show, so she could help raise awareness in the Black community about mental health issues. She felt that the issue in the Black community needed some urgency. She added that she wanted something where they could reach more people.
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I had a dark moment
In 2020, she made use of the platform to open up about depression. The longtime mental health advocate told psychologist Dr. LaShonda Green a month ago that she had a dark moment.
She could not get out of bed for a couple of days because she felt like she was in a dark place. For two nights in a row, she began wanting to end her life. She was afraid to share her thoughts with her friends because she feared they would think she was crazy.
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Relieved after telling her story to a friend
One day she decided to tell her girlfriend about her thoughts, which have relieved her. She was glad to internalizing her thoughts and finally confiding everything to her friend. She feared something could have happened had she not opened up to her friend.
Henson said that she is not a professional, but she felt that it would have become a plan if she had not told anyone. She said that what scared her was that the thoughts kept coming after trying to end her life two nights in a row.
