 by Julian Spivey
The season one finale of Fox’s breakout freshman hit “Empire” aired last night and undoubtedly will further upon its record-breaking ratings climb that has seen every episode have more viewers than the one before it. But, it was something that “Empire” star Terrence Howard wants to see added to the show for its second season that has caused quite the controversy. Howard, who plays Empire Entertainment CEO Lucious Lyon, said in an interview with “Access Hollywood” on Monday, March 16 that he would like for the show to add the “N-word” into its dialogue for the second season. Howard said he feels the controversial word would allow “Empire” to be more authentic. He told “Access Hollywood”: “Well, I believe if we’re gonna really tackle racism, if we’re gonna tackle bigotry, if we’re gonna tackle homophobia, we need to attack it dead on you don’t just sit up, you know let’s give a little Aspirin right here, no we need to take the sutures, open up the problem and reach in and grab it. And since n**** is used in almost every conversation in most black neighborhoods, why is it that we don’t hear it on TV anymore? Are white people afraid of it? Did they create the word? But if this is something that we use on a daily basis, then let’s address what it really means.” The entire interview can be seen here and while I don’t agree with everything Howard has to say about the “N-word” I do agree with him that the word would give “Empire” a more authentic feel. I don’t really believe there’s a way one could argue that it wouldn’t make the show more real given the fact that the word is used frequently within the real-world culture that’s being displayed in the fictional world on the television series. Those who will argue that using the word on the show is a danger to society or culture should keep in mind that Lucious Lyon murdered a man in cold blood in the pilot episode and drugs have a key role in the storyline, as well. If people can watch “Empire” without being induced to kill or sell drugs surely it wouldn’t have a negative impact on their daily vocabulary either if the “N-word” is thrown into the show’s dialogue on occasion. It’s highly unlikely you’ll be hearing the “N-word” anytime soon on “Empire” despite Howard’s opinion. It is something that has come up in writer’s meetings though according to writer David Rambo who told TMZ, “It’s such a powerful word. It’s a huge issue. It came up a lot in our writer’s room.” But, he ultimately felt that as a white man he didn’t have the right to make the call on whether or not to include the word in his scripts. Howard’s co-star Taraji P. Henson, who’s perhaps the show’s most popular character as Lucious’ ex-wife Cookie, isn’t a fan of using the word on the show. She told TMZ when asked if “Empire” should start using the word, “Naw, you might piss people off.” Irritating viewers isn’t really something shows should focus on, but in the world of network television where ratings are king the use of the “N-word” might see the show’s record climb start to dip if the word offended some viewers. Howard’s right that it would make the show more authentic, but you’re not going to get completely authentic drama on Fox. If the show was on premium cable like HBO or Showtime you’d more than likely see the word used, except in that case it’d probably be overused.
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