Taraji Has a Message for All of You Homophobes
Taraji P. Henson has a unique way to deal with Empire's haters: she'll kill 'em with sweetness.
The Golden Globe winner, who snagged her first award at last night's ceremony, says she has no time for the small, but vocal, minority who have criticized Empire for having "too much gay sh**" in the show's storylines. 50 Cent became the most prominent person to co-sign the homophobic position, when he retweeted the sentiment last year.
"We ignore that," Taraji tells People of the anti-gay remarks. "That's nonsense and that's fear, so we understand where that's coming from, so there's nothing to comment on that. The numbers speak for themselves," she said of Empire's ratings.
"People are dealing with this, it's not a joke, that's why it's in the script. It's not for show, it's not for sensationalism. It's because people are struggling with this. And that's why we shed light on it. You can't make everybody happy, we don't try to. We just try to touch and affect lives and I think we have. We're always going to have haters, so here's to all my haters! I'll send you cookies, thanks."
Clearly, 50 and those who think like him can't do anything to stop the success of Empire.
Watch our interview with Jussie Smollett talking about the homophobic backlash against the show, below:
(Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)