The 2024 Paris Olympics was a “special” and memorable experience for Taraji P. Henson.”I’d never been to the Olympics before. It is really special,” the Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist actress told Jimmy Fallon when she appeared on The Tonight Show on September 3. “And you know what I found so interesting? As a mother, I just empathize with those babies,” she said, referring to the Olympians.
“They work so hard. They get there, and they may have a mishap and sprain their ankle or fall, and then it’s over, and you just feel it,” she continued. “You feel the weight for them.”
Taraji P. Henson tells Jimmy Fallon about her “incredible” time at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Henson saw several categories, including basketball and skateboarding; the latter, she noted, “was very interesting.”
“It was incredible. That is definitely a sport. They actually defy gravity. On a board. Like, what?” Henson exclaimed. She also got to witness the impressive skills of the greatest gymnast of all time, Simone Biles.
“I saw gymnastics. That was amazing. It’s not good for your nerves. It’s intense,” Henson told Fallon as he showed a picture of her nervously watching the gymnasts compete.
In addition to a photo, Fallon also shared a video that Henson recorded of Biles. She captured the moment the gymnast saw actress Gabrielle Union in the stands, who was sitting with Henson. But Biles didn’t see Henson herself.
“So we spotted Simone, and we totally fanned out, and I was recording. There was this special moment where she looked up, and she saw Gabrielle Union,” Henson explained. “And I was recording the moment and didn’t know that I was recording because as she was saying it, the guy behind us was like, ‘Did you hear what she said? She said, ‘Gabrielle Union is up there.’ And I was like, ‘Really?! She said that?!'””And then I checked later that night, and I hit up Gabby, and I was like, ‘Gabby, I have the actual footage. I didn’t even know,'” she added. As for not being seen by Biles, Henson joked, “My hair was different, so I understand.”
