Out director Lee Daniels says he was
unable to direct a homophobic scene based on his life on the Fox
series Empire.
Empire centers around Empire
Enterprises, a hip hop music company run by Lucious Lyon (played by
Terrence Howard). Fighting for control of the family empire are
Lucious' ex-wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) and their three sons, one
of whom is gay.
In one scene, Lucious throws his son
into a trashcan when he finds him wearing women's clothing as a child.
Appearing on CNN, Daniels told Don
Lemon that he had told Empire co-creator Danny Strong about
the incident.
“I told him this in passing and then
when it ended up in the script, I said, 'No, no,'” Daniels
said. “In some kind of way, he talked me into it.”
“When it came to the kid walking
towards Terrance with his hands on his hips, I couldn't direct the
scene. I broke down in tears,” he said. “So, I didn't direct
that moment, my sister did, who ain't a director.”