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Earlier today, Iman Shumpert was getting clowned after he reportedly claimed characters on hit FOX show Empire were based on the life of him and his girlfriend, Teyana Taylor. However, the Cleveland Cavalier now claims that his quotes were blown out of proportion. 

Shumpert relayed his theory to Cleveland.com. “They’re using my girl’s character, her style, her look and she’s not getting anything for it,” Shumpert said of Taylor, referring to the character “Tiana Brown.” “They didn’t even change her name. They could have at least let my girl audition for the part instead of stealing her character completely.”

The character’s sometime girlfriend on the show is Hakeem, who sports a towering high top fade like Shumpert. He is also a struggle rapper like Shumpert, who dissed Charlamagne in rhyme late last year.

Nevertheless, Shumpert changed his tune after the initial story went viral, and after getting mocked by Empire devotees. He told TMZ Sports:

“Fans of the show and friends have told us on many occasions that couple favors us but we do not all feel that our lives are being copied/stolen.”

Shumpert continues, “I apologize to the actors on the show because they’re just being professionals and don’t deserve slander that’s not what I was trying to portray and I have to be more careful with my choice of words.”

“I do not appreciate the writer using his questions with my answers to draw quotes like I was making these elaborate answers but that’s the media. The writer took a 2-3 min convo of locker room talk after a GREAT TEAM WIN and made it look like a sit down interview and it wasn’t.”

That Empire fan mafia is not to be trifled with, eh?

Photo: WENN.com