‘Empire’ Co-Creator Lee Daniels Says His Experience w/ The Show Was ‘Absolutely The Worst’

Lee Daniels, Cast of Empire

‘Empire’ Co-Creator Lee Daniels Says His Experience w/ The Show Was ‘Absolutely The Worst’

Empire wasn’t the best experience for everyone connected to the show.

Lee Daniels has many hit TV and film projects under his belt, including the 2009 movie Precious, which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. Many also know Lee Daniels from the Fox series Empire. The media mogul not only co-created the series but he also served as executive producer, director, and writer. Empire ran for 6 seasons (from 2015 to 2020) and was well-received by critics and the public. By the end of its run, Empire earned several nominations and wins from notable award ceremonies, including the Primetime Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and the NAACP Image Awards.

Despite its success, Lee Daniels apparently didn’t have the best time working on Empire. During a recent interview, Daniels touched on how much of a difference it was for him to go from creating content independently to working with a large network for Empire.

“All of my sh*t is independent. You know, my first movie was developed with drug money. ‘Monster’s Ball.’ We won the first Black woman an Oscar. Every one of my films has been independently financed where I’m able to…do my thing and nobody is in my head. There are so many filmmakers and writers that I respect that have to answer to people. So I only did ‘Empire’ just so I could see what that experience was like.”

He continued, noting his experience of no longer being independent was “horrible. Absolutely the worst experience.”

Finding the bright side of the entire ordeal, Daniels added

“Horrible! But guess what? F*cking that money, money, money! I was able to put my kids through college and sh*t. So that in itself was worth it.”

Lee Daniels

As previously covered, following the conclusion of Empire, Taraji P. Henson was sent to continue as Loretha “Cookie” Lyon in her own series, however, the plug on the project was pulled before it came to fruition. Explaining why, Taraji P. Henson said in a previous interview,

“All they wanted was another Cookie show, and I said, ‘I’ll do it, but it has to be right. The people deserve…she’s too beloved for y’all to f*ck it up. And so, when they didn’t get it right, I was like, ‘Well, that’s it,’ and they had nothing else. ‘You’re all f*ckin’ fired.’ It took me years to get there…you are the prize. Don’t you ever forget that. You are the talent. You are there check. Don’t every forget that. They work for you. If they are not…somebody else will do it. I stayed with the same team for years.”

What are your thoughts on that Lee Daniels shared? Tell us in the comments below! 

[VIA]