Taraji P. Henson halted hosting the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday to call viewers to vote in November and to issue a warning about what a second Donald Trump presidential term could look like.
Specifically slamming the hefty policy proposal package called Project 2025 that’s supported by many conservative groups as a means of dismantling the U.S. government with a Trump win, the actress said, “It’s time for us to play chess not checkers. It’s about making decisions that will affect us as human beings, our careers, our next generations to come.”
“I’m telling y’all you better show up and show out with them ballots,” Henson began. “I’m being serious now, I know I look good, but it’s a serious time, I need y’all to listen. Show up and show out when it’s time to vote because it’s not just about the presidential election you guys.”
Supported by Republican-voting Christian nationalists and also known as the 2025 Presidential Transition Project, Project 2025 was founded by The Heritage Foundation and rolls back civil rights laws, restricts access to abortions and contraception and, as explained by MSNBC’s Ja’han Jones, effectively places “the United States under authoritarian Christian nationalist rule and purge people from the government if they’re seen as disloyal to Trump.”
Henson spoke out against the project to the BET Awards’ predominantly Black audience, noting, “They are trying to bring the draft back. Who do you think they’re going to draft first?”
“Our careers, our next generations to come. Did you know that it is now a crime to be homeless? Pay attention. It’s not a secret, look it up. They are attacking our most vulnerable citizens,” she said. “The Project 2025 plan is not a game. Look it up!”
She then called on non-voters to get out and vote.
“I’m not trying to scare us, I’m trying to inform us. We’ve got three Supreme Court seats up you guys, we need those seats, or we have no protection,” she said. “OK, I got it out my system. I’m talking to all the mad people that don’t want to vote. You’re going to be mad about a lot of things if you don’t vote.”
Watch the full 90-second segment in the video below.
🔥 @tarajiphenson: “You better show up and show out when it’s time to vote… it’s about making decisions that will effect us as human beings… Project 2025 is not a game.” #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/orOTUu05y4
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) July 1, 2024
Project 2025 consists of conservative policy proposals that were crafted through Republican political strategist Kevin Robert’s lobbying sector The Heritage Foundation. The plan serves as a guide for the Republican Party in the event that Trump wins the November presidential election. It features strategies and methods for various divisions of governments, including the Department of Justice, Department of Education and the intelligence community.
Sunday marked the third time Henson served as host for the BET Awards, “culture’s biggest night,” as she previously took the stage in 2021 and 2022.