‘I Hate Being Sober’: Lee Daniels Tells How Patti Helped Him Beat Drug Habit & Discusses Cancellation
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Lee Daniels is a very outspoken figure within the realm of African American content creators. With his style of infusing all aspects of the Black experience into his storytelling, he’s undoubtedly someone who uses his voice to tell the stories he wants to share. Even now, after both of his hit shows on FOX have been given the ax, Daniels continues to move forward . Though it’s not easy…for Daniels, ‘easy’ isn’t a word in his vocabulary.
Never Bites His Tongue
Lee Daniels is an out and proud brotha who represents the LGBTQ community in everything he does. He tackles taboo topics in a way that makes people think, yet he has encountered many struggles along the way. In a recent interview with Vulture , he shed a few layers about how life has taken him down many different roads. For example, the cancellation of his popular FOX shows Empire and Star.
When Daniels was asked if the media circus surrounding the alleged Jussie Smollett attack played a part in FOX’s decision, he kept it all the way 100:
“Certainly, that played a major part. But come on, man. I think that it’s been a good run. Empire in its current iteration may be over, but Empire is far from over.”
When asked to explain his confusing comment he stated:
“I’m sorry. Well, we’re trying something out, and if it works, then Empire is over and we have a great spinoff. And if it doesn’t, then Empire may not very well be over. But the intent is to have our last season with a great spinoff.”
Further in the interview, Daniels admitted that the now famous Empire scene- where Lucious throws Jamal in a trashcan- actually happened to him. He had a very rough relationship with his Father, who was shot and killed in 1976. When asked how he felt about his Dad’s passing at that time, Daniels he revealed:
“I have come to terms with the love I have for my father, but I would be a liar to say that I wasn’t relieved that he was gone.”
