Taraji P Henson Twerked on Jimmy Fallon’s “That’s My Jam”

Henson appeared on Jimmy Fallon’s new NBC show, That’s My Jam, to perform the iconic dance move during Monday night’s episode. Together with Normani, she took on Rita Ora and New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi in the Lyrical Round competition; failure met by an unexpected water spray! At first Henson and Normani had difficulty keeping their balance while singing Jennifer Lopez’ “What I Like”. But soon regained their footing and managed to sing all three verses before receiving their fateful water blast!

As she and Normani walked off stage together, laughing and smiling together, Henson told the audience “That was so much fun!” before adding, “I’m so glad I did it.” Asked by an audience member about her twerking skills, Henson replied “I think I did more twerking than you might expect; however, that’s just part of the spirit of That’s My Jam; we’re here having fun.”

Henson has long demonstrated her dancing prowess on the red carpet, most recently at 2019 BET Awards where she got down with Sugar Bear for an ’80s-themed dance break. Wearing an all-black unitard and red long-sleeved jacket while her hair was pulled back into a voluminous, crimped ponytail, she also donned large hoop earrings and bubble hair ties to secure her look.

She is best-known for her roles on Fox drama Empire and Gabrielle Union movie Hidden Figures, for which she received several accolades including a Critics’ Choice Television Award nomination for best actress in a drama series for Empire and multiple Screen Actors Guild Award nods.

Henson is poised to enter the world of music. She’s been working on an exciting new project slated for launch next year and told Women’s Health she is taking an unconventional approach; rather than having someone else write lyrics for her, she writes them herself while working with top producers to create feel-good, seductive tracks.

Henson has hinted at what to expect for season two of Empire, promising there is plenty of excitement ahead. She has begun hinting about Cookie’s return, dropping tweets about it and dropping hints herself. Keep an eye out for more from Henson as filming in Atlanta begins soon!