Even though Lee Daniels and Danny Strong’s Fox series Empire enjoys delving into taboo subjects like homosexuality in hip-hop, Oedipal complexes, drug dealing, cannibalism, and murder, it’s also become known for the controversies and lawsuits outside of the writer’s room. Since its premiere in January, Empire has broken ratings records on the way to becoming one of Fox’s highest rated shows. The ratings train has slowed a bit in season two, but the beefs surrounding the show keep on keeping on. Here’s a timeline of the lawsuits and other battles the show and its creators are fighting behind the scenes.
Empire v. Empire Inc.
Legal action against Empire came to light back in March, when a Bay Area music company took offense to the show using part of its moniker, Empire Distribution Inc. CEO Ghazi Shami claims that the Fox series is taking market value away from their record label due to the fact that their musical offerings are placed close to each other on platforms like iTunes and Spotify. Furthermore, since the show acts as a conduit for original music, it’s creating confusion for customers having a hard time separating the two entities.
In response to Empire Distribution’s monetary demands — $8 million if the show continues to use the name — Fox filed their own suit asking a judge to dismiss the trademark case, arguing the San Francisco company is too obscure for their claims to have any relevance. There’s no definitive word yet on the outcome of this case.
Mo’Nique v. Lee Daniels
This one is a little hard to follow, so try to keep up. Mo’Nique won an Oscar for her role in Daniels’ 2009 film Precious, but during her acceptance speech, failed to thank the studio, producers, or even Daniels himself. The actress claimed Daniels called her and said that she was blackballed from the industry for not “playing the game.” Mo’Nique disagreed, claiming that it wasn’t Hollywood that disavowed her, but rather Daniels for her not mentioning his name the night of the Oscars. Here’s where things get murky.
Almost in the same breath in which she claimed Daniels had shunned her, she said that he also offered her roles in The Butler and Empire. This prompted Danny Strong to send out out the following tweet:
https://twitter.com/Dannystrong/status/571725115941134336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In April, Mo’Nique went on the Sway in the Morning show and brought along emails from Daniels’ representatives that allegedly proved she was offered the role of Cookie before Taraji P. Henson won it.
(The emails can be heard around the seven minute mark)
So, who’s right and who’s wrong in this instance? Who cares. Taraji kills it as Cookie, and she’s the best part of the show.
“The Real Cookie” v. Empire
Speaking of Cookie, Sophia Eggleston filed a $300 million lawsuit against Daniels and Strong in August, claiming that the creators of the show stole her life story to create the popular Empire character. Eggleston said that she met with screenwriter Rita Miller about her memoir, The Hidden Hand, which details her time as a drug dealer. Miller allegedly said she would pitch the memoir to Daniels as a film or TV project, and four years later, Empire premiered with Cookie, a character Eggleston claims is based on her. Fox and the Empire team haven’t provided much of a comment on the lawsuit yet, and as of this writing, no outcome has been declared.
Marvin Gaye III v. Empire (?)
Like Eggleston, Marvin Gaye III was purported by TMZ to begin litigation against the program for stealing his premise, which he created when he wrote the script for a show called Diamonds & Ballads. By his description, the show was a mix of Dynasty and The Sopranos, but in a musical setting.
But, just one day after it was reported that Gaye would seek a lawsuit, his lawyer spoke to Rolling Stone and said that any kind of legal action was on hold for the time being.
My client has not filed a lawsuit regarding the Empire series. Right now, Marvin’s interests and our efforts remain focused on the ‘Blurred Lines’ case and on seeing that through to its conclusion. We will address the TMZ report and the Empire matter at the appropriate time.
Gaye has yet to release a statement on if he will sue Fox and the creators of Empire.
Sean Penn v. Lee Daniels
Terrence Howard, who plays Lucious Lyon on the series, is a polarizing figure. On the one hand, he’s an excellent actor. On the other, he’s been known to be difficult to work with, and he has some insane notions that he’s a mathematician. Oh, and there’s also the fact that he hits women. (He admitted this in a Rolling Stone interview.)
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter in September, Lee Daniels went to bat for Howard, saying the claims of abuse directed at his star were heavy handed.
[Howard] ain’t done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he’s some f—-in’ demon.
Daniels is referring to an alleged incident in which Penn tied Madonna to a chair and beat her during their fiery relationship in the ’80s. Penn, upon learning of Daniels’ comment, set in motion a $10 million lawsuit against Daniels for defamation. Daniels hasn’t spoken much on the suit, but just this week, he asked that the case be moved from a State Supreme Court to a federal district court in New York.
50 Cent v. Empire
50 Cent went on the offensive against Empire before the show premiered, claiming it stole its aesthetics from the Starz series he produces, Power. Since then, there’s been a rather quiet war of words on social media between Henson, Empire, and 50 Cent, but things died down — until the season two premiere. There the show takes a light jab at 50, when Cookie calls him “thirsty.” In a now deleted Instagram post, 50 shot back, saying that the one with the real thirst was Taraji, whom he claims he was at one time intimate with.
Addressing Empire‘s season two rating slide, Fiddy posted this Instagram on Sunday, poking fun of the show.
https://instagram.com/p/9AAkbHML9V/
Who will come out of the proverbial woodwork next to claim Empire as its enemy?
