FOX’s Empire is off to an incredible start ahead of its second season but for several of the cast members, the old adage of “mo money, mo problems” has reared its ugly head.
Sure there have been some wins such as Trai Byers and Grace Gealey’s pending nupitials and Jussie Smollet’s emergence as a credible artist, but the life has been imitating the art for plenty of the others.
Check them out.
Photo: FOX
Malik Yoba’s Medicine?
The veteran actor didn’t get to stick around long enough to see the show’s meteoric rise to fame as his character was killed off at the end of the first season. But he had to dispel a nasty rumor that he was kicked off the show for skiing with his nostrils on the set.
Photo: WENN
Mo’Nique Against All Things Lee Daniels
Mo’Nique practically launched a nationwide tour telling the world that Empire‘s director was a liar. After being originally being cast as Cookie, Mo’Nique offered up proof in the form of emails and concluded Daniels was still salty he didn’t get a “thank you” during the Oscars.
Photo: FOX
The Good Mother
Taraji P. Henson admitted she “overreacted” when defending her weed-smoking son against the Glendale, California Police Department after he was pulled over in October 2014. The case was definitely more D.A.R.E. than Black Lives Matter.
Photo: WENN
Timbaland’s Divorce Remix
In late 2013, after 10 years of marriage, Monique Mosley filed for divorce from her Empire music executive producer husband but the couple quickly reconciled on the typical celebrity “work-it-out” jig. A few weeks ago, Mosley filed once again, looking as strategic as one of the show’s characters.
Photo: Nikki Nelson/WENN
Anthony Hamilton’s Song Fuel
The soul singer can relate to Timbo the King’s agony. He recently announced his divorce to his wife of 10 years. Hamilton appeared on the episode “Dangerous Bonds” as himself. Coincidence or nah?
Photo: WENN
Derek Luke Vs. Swirl Haters
Luke has been married to his Hispanic wife for more than 17 years but that didn’t stop his newfound gossipy fan base from coming at him crazy for all sorts of “sell-out” and racial hatred. He recently had to swat them off his social media the keyboard.
Empire Ripoff
The longtime Hip-Hop middleman Empire Distribution is currently engaged in a crazy legal battle with FOX over copyright infringement claims (a claim the network later countersued). With so many similarities, it’s just a matter of when that settlement is announced.
Photo: FOX
The Yazz Spaz
Bryshere Gray has done little to dispel the notion that his rapper persona doesn’t mirror the generic one of his character, Hakeem Lyon. Apparently that pent-up frustration (and alleged bipolar disorder) forced a real-life fight with Terrence Howard on the set.
New Black Attack
Raven-Symoné leveraged her cameo on the show to gain popularity and get a spot on The View, which she uses daily to say something irrational and controversial.
Photo: Twitter / Empire Writers
The Writer’s Block
After President Obama was called a “sell-out” on the second episode, plenty of viewers expressed their fake outrage on social media, prompting Taraji P. Henson to tell it like it is. The show doesn’t appear to be getting political anytime soon, though.
Photo: FOX
Terrence Howard
Howard came into his Empire role with plenty of baggage, thanks to a messy divorce he quickly covered up with a new marriage a few months later. Unfazed, Michele Ghent recently filed a lawsuit for assault and defamation charges, making Howard’s life every bit of sensational as Lucious Lyon’s.
Real-Life Scandals Of Empire Stars
