empire
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Jussie Smollett Reportedly Hospitalized in Chicago Following Racist, Homophobic Attack [Updated]
Horrifying news— Jussie Smollett is reportedly hospitalized in Chicago following a possible hate crime. The Chicago Police Department released a statement concerning “a cast member of the television show, Empire” regarding an assault and battery incident. According to TMZ, two white men in ski masks reportedly approached the 35-year-old actor late Monday, yelled out racial…
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Jussie Smollett: Actor, Activist, Singer, Director and Man Who Leads With His Blackness
Jussie Smollett ended his day at 1 a.m. on Saturday morning, got on a plane and flew from Chicago (where his hit series Empire is filmed) to New York City. Hours later, the actor had an afternoon call time at the Tribeca TV Festival. Smollett made it on time; he was neatly put together and…
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Terrence Howard Says Empire Has More Reach Than The Cosby Show
Terrence Howard appeared on the red carpet during Fox’s “upfronts” Monday and reminisced about the impact appearing on The Cosby Show had for him back in 1998. Howard took his reminiscing a step further and said his show Empire has a bigger reach than The Cosby Show ever did. “Back in 1998, I had the opportunity…
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Empire Actor Arrested for Domestic Violence
Morocco Omari, 41, the actor who plays Lucious Lyon’s bitter half-brother on Fox’s Empire, was arrested this week after allegedly brutalizing a woman in Chicago. According to TMZ, Omari pushed a 24-year-old woman to the ground during an argument Wednesday night, and she was left with visible bruises on her neck. The actor was arrested…
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Black-Led TV Shows Have Always Had Crossover Appeal; So Why the Side-Piece Treatment?
Earlier this month, Nielsen unveiled a study examining the broader appeal of black-led and/or -focused content—particularly in television. It begins with acknowledgment that black people play a pivotal role in shaping various sectors of popular culture in the U.S. In its findings, “73 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 67 percent of Hispanics believe that African…
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How Sway? Lee Daniels Says Racism Isn't Real to Him Because He Doesn't Embrace It
During a recent sitdown on the talk show The Real, Lee Daniels made some eyebrow-raising comments about racism. During a segment about the backlash against the Mall of America’s black Santa, the Empire creator said, “I wouldn’t be where I was if I embraced racism. If I embraced it, then it became real. And if it became real,…
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Born Into This: Romeo Miller on Failure, Success and Entrepreneurship
Believe it or not, Romeo Miller’s first job as a child was selling yo-yos and Pokémon trading cards. Yep, the actor-rapper-producer formerly known as Lil’ Romeo (who is also a child of hip-hop royalty) had a lil’ hustle growing up. Go figure. Now, decades later, Miller is at the helm of a hip-hop empire and…
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Empire Recap: Who Died? And Did Anyone Care?
The season 2 Empire finale was an episode packed with surprises. We learned that Lucious isn’t the devil’s spawn. His father was Joe, a cop, whom Lucious saw gunned down when he was a child. Empire has played fast and loose with flashbacks, so don’t be shocked if Joe rises from the grave just like…