Fox's Empire is known for its on-screen drama, but what goes on behind-the-scenes might be
even more juicy than anything we’ve sees on screen.
From on-set meltdowns to lawsuits and everything in between, these are secrets that should
have stayed on the Empire set.
Jussie Smollett's shocking story
Jussie Smollett made headlines in January 2019 when he went for a 2 a.m. sandwich run
that ended in an assault - or did it?
The Empire star told Chicago police he was attacked by two men who assaulted him with
slurs, bleach, and a rope around his neck, all while shouting Donald Trump's slogan of
"MAGA " - or "Make America Great Again."
The outlandish account was widely denounced as a hate crime, but the story soon began
to unravel.
Police identified two men, Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, as persons of interest.
After being scooped up by police, the brothers said that Smollett paid them to stage the
attack, which police allege was done to raise Smollett's profile - and maybe get him an
increase on his Empire salary.
Just weeks after being seen as a sympathetic victim of a heinous crime, Smollett was arrested
on felony charges for falsifying a police report, which could land the actor in jail.
He was also cut from the final two episodes of Empire's fifth season.
He maintains his innocence.
Terrence Howard turns his back
Terrence Howard initially seemed like he was standing by his embattled co-star - but there
was reportedly some major tension behind the scenes following Smollett's arrest.
According to TMZ, Howard had an on-set meltdown after Smollett turned himself in, reportedly
heading into his trailer and refusing to come out.
An anonymous source who spoke to TMZ claimed that Howard never believed Smollett's story
and regularly pestered the actor about the details of the case.
When the Osundairo brothers were detained as persons of interest, that was apparently
a breaking point for Howard, who allegedly yelled at Smollett to tell the truth.
Howard was also reportedly missing from the set when Smollett tearfully addressed the
allegations and told his castmates he was innocent.
Nonetheless, Howard did publicly show support for Smollett, sharing an Instagram post which
read,
"All your lil homies got you…
We love the hell outta you."
Terrence Howard's nasty history
Right before season two of Empire aired in 2015, news broke of Terrence Howard's nasty
split from second wife Michelle Ghent, and the proceedings painted a nasty picture of
domestic abuse.
According to People, the split was marked with big accusations of disturbing behavior
from both sides, including allegations of drug use and threats.
In 2009, Howard reportedly sent disturbing messages to Ghent, with one text reading,
"Every minute of every day I feel like putting an end to this miserable existence…
every lie I've told to you are equal in my mind to putting bullets into a clip and firing
them at my future."
Ghent used numerous text messages to describe Howard as being overly possessive and dangerous.
In a phone call used as evidence, she called him, quote, "scary," but Howard painted a
different picture.
He claimed his wife was continually attacking him and that he was actually afraid of her.
This wasn't the first time Howard was accused of domestic abuse.
In 2013, Howard's ex girlfriend told the New York Daily News that the star choked and punched
her.
Howard also admitted to slapping his first wife in front of his children in 2001, with
a police report for the incident saying he punched her twice with a closed fist.
Grace Gealey and Trai Byers' big secret
Love in the workplace always feels a little bit scandalous.
No one on Empire knows this better than Grace Gealey and Trai Byers, who play Anika Calhoun
and Andre Lyon, respectively.
According to the New York Daily News, the co-stars first met on the set of Empire and
only dated a few months before Byers proposed.
During Season 2, they tied the knot in a secret island ceremony, and TMZ reported their co-stars
didn't make the guest list.
You've got to have boundaries, right?
In a 2015 episode of FABLife, the notoriously private Gealey talked about being cautious
with her workplace romance, to keep things from being awkward if the fling didn't work
out.
As Gealey put it,
"I think that if you do get involved at your workplace, you have to know that this is something
that you want to be invested in, and this is just not just something that is frivolous
and fleeting."
Henson almost walked away
Empire co-creator Lee Daniels has revealed that he was originally hoping to cast Wesley
Snipes as hip hop mogul Lucious Lyon, but those plans were derailed with the help of
Taraji Henson, who had other plans.
Before the actress had even landed the role of Cookie Lyon, she was adamant that the series
should be headed up by her, and her Hustle and Flow co-star Terrence Howard.
"I gotcha something."
"What?"
Henson wouldn't take a bite out of Cookie without Terrence Howard.
The Hustle & Flow co-stars have some deep ties, and Henson refused to take on her Empire
role without him - she just had to make sure she actually won the audition first.
During a panel at the 2015 Winter TCA Press Tour, Henson reportedly revealed that she
told Daniels,
"I think Cookie is amazing.
I would love to play her.
If you can get Terrence, I'm all about it.
If not, good luck with the project!"
Daniels had worked with Howard in the past, but didn't think the star would actually sign
on for a TV project.
Howard even admitted he was "scared to death" after reading the script.
Ultimately, the star took the role because of his experience with Henson on Hustle & Flow.
Is Nia Long a nightmare?
Children of the '90s might remember Nia Long from Boyz n the Hood and The Fresh Prince
of Bel-Air, but the star took Empire by storm in 2017 - and it sounds like she made an impression.
According to TMZ, Long has been described as a nightmare on Empire's set.
The actress was allegedly so hard to work with that the hair and makeup team filed an
official complaint.
She reportedly made a habit of being late to set, leaving co-stars Terrence Howard and
Taraji P. Henson waiting - if she even showed up at all, leading producers to provide stand-ins
for Long just so her co-stars could rehearse.
"If you wanna call that difficult, then… sorry."
For whatever reason, Long reportedly had major beef with Henson.
TMZ claimed the pair were at one point not on speaking terms with each other, and almost
had to shoot their scenes separately.
According to TMZ, at least one actor on the series swore never to work with Long again.
Long live the lawsuits
Success can bring lawsuits, and Empire has been plagued with them.
Most notably, the Fox series was accused of stealing people's real life stories as inspiration
for Lucious and Cookie Lyon.
According to Page Six, Detroit resident Sophia Eggleston sued Fox for $300 million because
she believed Cookie was based on her life.
Much like the Empire mainstay, Eggleston claimed to be a fur coat-loving drug kingpin who reportedly
spent time behind bars for manslaughter.
What does this have to do with Empire?
Eggleston claimed to have met with a screenwriter who shopped her memoir to Daniels prior to
the show's release.
"So you believe she betrayed you, and your story ends up being the most popular show
in America, and you got cut out of the deal."
"Right."
While Eggleston's claim was convincing enough that a judge refused to throw it out in 2016,
the case was ultimately dismissed in Fox's favor in 2017.
Ron Newt has also alleged that Empire was inspired by his life story as a gangster,
pimp and drug dealer.
Newt has claimed to have met with Howard before Empire was released, giving the actor a screenplay,
a memoir, and a DVD documentary about his life.
Most outrageously, Newt was originally seeking a billion dollars in the lawsuit, which was
thrown out by a judge in 2016.
It's the kind of story that would feel over-the-top even for Empire, which makes it all the more
amusing that it happened in real life.
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