Taraji P. Henson Reveals She's 'Seriously Considering' Moving Abroad: 'You Get Tired of Fighting'

The award-winning actress returns as host of the BET Awards on June 26 and stars in Minions: The Rise of Gru, out July 1

Taraji P. Henson. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty

Taraji P. Henson might be adding 'expat' to her long list of titles.

As she gears up to return as host of the BET Awards on Sunday, the actress — who also lends her voice to the new animated film Minions: The Rise of Gru — tells PEOPLE she may soon bid adieu to America.

"I'm really considering getting up out of here, leaving and living in another country," she says on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast when asked how she's been coping with the difficult political and social climate in America. "That's something that comes with 50, you get tired of fighting. I'm tired."

As for what has exhausted the star, she notes the "pressures of being Black" and the ongoing fight for justice and peace in America. "I just don't want to have to do another hashtag … I fought, I chanted, I marched. I'm tired."

Henson, 51, imagines life in her foreign refuge to be much simpler. "I want to go where there's neutral ground," she says. "I want to just be. And be happy. I want to be called 'Bella' every day, drink wine and swat flies on the porch. Stress-free."

It's an ideal situation she says she's earned at this stage in her life and career.

"There's something that happens when you turn 50, where all of your f---s are behind you. I've accomplished a lot and I'm going to do what I want to do." She adds, "I'm at the point now where if I say, 'I quit, I'm going to go travel the world,' I can. It's so freeing."

That said, she still has a few career goals. "I've always wanted to play a villain," says Henson, who voices the sinister Belle Bottom in Minions: The Rise fo Gru, which hits theaters on July 1. "I still want to play a real-life villain like a Marvel character, but I'm happy to be Belle Bottom. She is jazzy and has a big afro."

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

While she's not turning in her U.S. passport just yet, Henson says she is looking forward to an overseas girl's trip following her BET hosting duties.

"Me and Mary [J. Blige] have been trying to do this trip for so long but our schedules just keep getting crazy. I just told her 'Look, enough is enough, I need a vacation!'"

For more on Taraji P. Henson busy life and future plans, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE on newsstands Friday, and tune in to her interview on PEOPLE Every Day podcast, wherever you listen to podcasts.