CNN’s openly gay anchor Don Lemon is hating on Fox TV’s Hip Hop soap opera ‘Empire’ — but for the wrong reasons.
In his self-superior, pro-homosexual rant on CNN, Lemon told his TV audience just why he’s hating on ‘Empire'”
From ThatGrapeJuice.net:
“I’m a hater; for today at least.
I’m not one normally.
You guys know that.
And I’m hating on the TV show Empire. I hate that show. Wanna know why? I hate it because it keeps me up to watch it on my DVR or On Demand…
I hate that Terrence Howard gets to play Cookie’s husband instead of me. Yes, I’m hating on Terrence too. I hate that I’m not in it. I hate that Raven Symone gets a guest role on the show and I don’t. I hate that it wasn’t on TV a long time ago. I hate that it took so long for a show with a mostly Black cast, which remind me of the characters on Dynasty in the 1980’s, took until 2015 to gain wide acceptance from the American public. I hate that it took so long for a show like this one to come around which unapologetically shows positive images of Black gay men and Black gay women to the masses.
I hate that the show gets criticized for having the nerve to show gay men and women kissing and that test audiences reacted negatively to those scenes before the show even aired. You get my point.
By the way, how much or little bass is in your voice or being masculine has nothing to do with sexuality. I know plenty of effeminate straight men and plenty of masculine gay men. I hate that it seems to have taken forever for a TV series to show relatable characters and experiences from the rap and hip hop music industry.
And I hate that some people who love to criticize don’t understand that black families are just as nuanced and complicated as any other family and that the masses need to see it. No show is reflective of the entirety of our community, and I don’t think Empire is even trying to be that. I hate that some people are trying to put Lee Daniels and Taraji P. Henson in a box, a black box.
Cookie don’t play that and neither does Lee Daniels.
Keep going.” (source with audio)
The show’s star Taraji P. Henson (who plays the ghetto fabulous Cookie) defended an episode in which character Hakeem Lyons (played by Bryshere Y. Gray) disrespected the president of the United States, calling him a sell-out.
Weeks later, critics of the show are still seething with anger over what they saw as disrespect towards the country’s first half-black president.
Taraji responded to the backlash on social media:
