Posted by | Ray Cornelius 

Empire actress Taraji P. Henson is giving us Diana Ross realness in her new photo spread for W Magazine. The actress appears on the cover wearing a wet white t-shirt along with vintage stonedwashed jeans and her real  hair slicked back just like Miss Ross did for the cover of her 1980 album, DIANA.  As soon as I saw the glossy images of Henson, I immediately thought about the iconic album cover and how much she resembled her favorite fashion idol. DIANA features the hit songs—“I’m Coming Out” and “Upside Down” and was one of two album covers featuring Miss Ross without her signature big hair, long eyelashes and glamorous gowns.

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During the interview, Henson opens up about auditioning for the role of ‘Cookie’ and her feelings about the negative criticism the character has received from the African-American community.

“When I hear that Cookie is a bad representation of black women, I don’t get involved. Maybe Cookie makes you uncomfortable because she reminds you of yourself. People miss the bigger picture when they start judging.”

Check out more photos below and a video of Henson talking about being the American Dream:

[youtube id=”m0UGM_F1zcg” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Ross and Henson

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Photo Credits: WMagazine.com and Francesco Scavullo

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