Taraji P. Henson reflected on her performance of “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” at the 2006 Oscars, joking that the “biggest pimps are in Hollywood.”

She recalled the surreal experience of singing about pimps and hoes in front of an A-list audience. “Helen Mirren, everybody was like, ‘Yeah, it’s hard out here!’ And I was like, ‘What in the world are we doing?’ It was great!” the actress told Jimmy Fallon.

Henson has been vocal about pay disparities in Hollywood, revealing that she almost turned down a role in The Color Purple due to a pay dispute.

Taraji immediately regretted her joke, saying, “I didn’t say that!” as she looked around the room and under her seat. Gesturing to a prop microphone on Fallon’s desk, she joked, “That’s what that thing said!”