Lee Daniels has spent most of his career telling the stories of Black folks, but now he's looking to spread the wealth of his storytelling.
In a new interview with Ebony, he addresses the backlash against casting a white lead in his new musical television drama Star by saying he did so to make white people feel good. No, really.

“We are in a very dangerous state right now in our country and I wanted white people to feel good about being white because right now, there’s a lot of hatred going on,” Daniels explains, before explaining how the plot for the new series evolved. “It started out with this white girl that was just bada** and would do anything: kill, rob, have sex, whatever to get to the top. Then, I realized as I was writing, that it was more about a girl group. Their whole world is about what happened to me when I left home and went to Hollywood and the struggles I went through. ”
Umm, okay? Surely, this is gonna make a lot of folks mad, but Mr. Daniels has never shied away from that.
Get the full scoop on Star with BET Breaks, above.