Danny Strong explains why N-word is off-limit on the FOX hip-hop drama series but it's okay to use another offensive gay slur.
- Jun 7, 2015
AceShowbiz - "Empire" executive producer Danny Strong responds to Terrence Howard's insistence on using N-word on the show. "I disagree with Terrence," the producer comments when speaking to fans during a panel at the ATX Festival in Austin, Texas. "I don't think we need to use the n-word on the show."
Howard previously told EW, "I'm mad that we don't say n***a in the show. Why is TV showing something different from the reality of the world? Why is there a thing called censorship that stop people from hearing everyday talk? We use n***a every day. It's become part of a conversation - why aren't we using it in the show?"
Strong explains why N-word is unnecessary for the show, "If we were on cable, yes. But we're not on cable. We're a network show. It's not a documentary on hip hop. It's a soap opera set in the hip-hop world and tells a heightened story. And that's why you're able to watch the show not notice there's no profanity."
The producer additionally says that the debate over the use of N-word happened only in the press. "You have something like that Terrence says, Taraji [P. Henson] responds, [executive producer Lee Daniels] responds - you have all these quotes. Guess how many discussions happened about this between us personally? Zero. It's just something Terence said," he claims.
When an audience member asks Strong why N-word is off-limit while another gay slur is okay, he says, "That was really important to Lee in particular, who's gay. But I agree, it was a great moment. [Cookie] is throwing [Lucious] homophobia back in his face. To use one of the most offensive homophobic slurs is one of the most powerful ways to do it."
The scene in question sees Henson's Cookie yelling at Howard's Lucious, "I want to show you a f***** really can run this company," as she refers to their gay son Jussie Smollett's Jamal. The offensive word was almost censored by FOX but producers argued with the network, "You used it on 'Glee'!"
Meanwhile, another executive producer Wendy Calhoun explains why it's important for "Empire" to be successful. "If this show fails they won't let another all-black drama on television for 20 years," she opens up. "We felt like the show was so much bigger than us. The fear of failure was so great. I couldn't even let myself go to that place, I wouldn't have been able to get it done."
