‘Empire’ actor Jsie Smollett reveals he’s gay on ‘Ellen’: ‘There is no closet’

Contents:

• ‘EMPIRE’ ACTOR JSIE SMOLLETT REVEALS HE’S GAY ON ‘ELLEN’: ‘THERE IS NO CLOSET’
• EMPIRE'S GAY SON IS THE SHOW'S GREATT ASSET
• ‘JOEY, YOU’RE GAY!’: INSI THE SURPRISG FRIENDS JOKE THE WRERS REMOVED
• JOEY OM “FRIENDS” WAS GAY & CLOSETED JOKE CUT OM SEASON 4 FALE
• JSIE SMOLLETT TAK PART TV'S FIRST GAY, BLACK WEDDG HIS LAST EMPIRE EPISO OF THE SEASON
• IS HAKEEM FROM EMPIRE GAY?
• THE TRAGEDY BEHD FOX’S ‘EMPIRE’: LEE DANIELS’S FATHER BEAT HIM FOR BEG GAY

‘EMPIRE’ ACTOR JSIE SMOLLETT REVEALS HE’S GAY ON ‘ELLEN’: ‘THERE IS NO CLOSET’

"The 31-year-old "Empire" star me out on "The Ellen DeGener Show" after his character om the h Fox seri revealed he's gay. "WITH A JUICY BLEND OF MUSIC, DRAMA AND OUTRAGEOUSNESS, 'EMPIRE' HAS BECOME THE BREAKOUT HIT OF 2015Jsie Smollett discs his role on ‘Empire’ and how he had to dn seven tim before landg the role of Jamal Lyon, who me out as gay a recent episo. Smollett also revealed he's gay real life.

"Followg the episo when his character me out, Smollett received hate onle, but didn't ter him om movg forward wh the storyle or revealg he's also gay real life. Rather than jt flailg agast his father's homophobia and retreatg to the fort of his keyboard, Jamal summoned his anger to a missn statement: He pledged to take over his father's pany.

EMPIRE'S GAY SON IS THE SHOW'S GREATT ASSET

First, and I fear we've unrsold this our last two reps, how spectacular is that a work TV show picts not only a gay man of lor, but a gay man of lor the hetero-domated world of hip-hop? Lee Daniels and his team may have unrled Luc's homophobia too hard so far, havg him nsistently refer to Jamal as female and sist homosexualy is a choice egregly bluntly, but 's probably (and sadly) realistic—and mak Jamal's assertn that he is a gay man, emphasis on both of those scriptors, all the more valuable.

Much has been wrten about the legacy of Friends and how, viewed hdsight, was problematic how picted and diststed homosexualy particular. Or the One Where Ross photoshopped Chandler to gay pornography as a prank?

‘JOEY, YOU’RE GAY!’: INSI THE SURPRISG FRIENDS JOKE THE WRERS REMOVED

But the many, many exampl seem all the more strange when you disver that, on some level, the wrers were open to the ia that Joey himself was gay. We know seems unlikely that Joey Tribbiani, the most womanisg man the group, was quietly nursg homosexual sir. We know that Chandler seemed the more stereotypil, cliched ndidate thanks to his aforementned 'qualy', or that Ross's explic homophobia uld fact shield unnsc sir.

But 's te: Joey was the one who the wrers explicly referred to as gay one episo, before letg the fal draft. But the origal script - published the tie- book which prted the entire origal script, gave Phoebe an addn: 'Or, "Hey, Joey, you're gay.

We know that this statement don't mean that the wrers planned then abandoned a storyle where Joey tly do put women behd him and out as gay. A joke about Joey Tribbiani beg gay was cut om an episo of Friends, an early versn of the script revealed. Reported that a draft script for the season four fale, “The One Wh Ross’s Weddg, ” had a joke where Phoebe said that Joey is gay.

JOEY OM “FRIENDS” WAS GAY & CLOSETED JOKE CUT OM SEASON 4 FALE

Related: Was Chandler om “Friends” meant to be gay? But the draft script, she adds another joke: “Or ‘Hey, Joey, you’re gay.

Friends has faced cricism recent years due to the show’s negative portrayal of LGBTQ people, cludg the humanizg way Chandler’s transgenr parent was treated, the immature lbian jok Ross’s ex-wife Carol was the butt of, and the nstant fear male characters the show lived of beg thought of as gay, g them to fear and lgh at boys and men who dance, take re of children, or play wh dolls (gay, gay, and so gay that ’s OK to be mean to your own child over).

What’s unual about Phoebe’s cut joke is that was ually Ross and Chandler who were spected of beg gay, not womanizg Joey. And perhaps that’s why the joke didn’t make the fal ed: ’s possible that Joey’s entire character was a refully nstcted fa for a closeted gay man, but that’s a long, arduo path for a s to go down jt for a rather un-funny zger that isn’t even need bee immediately followed one that ma the same pot. Gay Republin group touts support for anti-trans legislatn & mocks out sger T.

JSIE SMOLLETT TAK PART TV'S FIRST GAY, BLACK WEDDG HIS LAST EMPIRE EPISO OF THE SEASON

It's the first time two black gay men have been married on TV, and star Gabourey Sidibe (whose character Becky officiated the weddg) tweeted about the ocsn. "Tonight, Empire will give life to a monumental love story by marryg 2 black, gay men for the first time televisn history, " she said. Gray is not gay.

Is Hakeem om Empire gay? The rapper is not gay.

In the episo, he mak fun of his homosexual brother, Jamal Lyon. Is Hakeem From Empire Gay? The band's sophomore album, When I Thk Of You In A Castle, was released April 2018 and saw Keery ntributg his guar playg as well as vols.

IS HAKEEM FROM EMPIRE GAY?

But, as Kelly Carter wrote on BuzzFeed, means "Beg Gay and Black on TV Will Never Be the Same. Y, the show nonts hip-hop's homophobia, but all the pimps and hos beg prented are rife wh racist unrton. Daniels wants to "normalize" gay romantic relatnships and Jamal is a perfect boyiend-type.

THE TRAGEDY BEHD FOX’S ‘EMPIRE’: LEE DANIELS’S FATHER BEAT HIM FOR BEG GAY

For a work that has stggled to draw eyeballs, Fox’s “Empire” — a Terrence Howard-helmed drama about a mic mogul and his, well, empire — is a blockbter that booked 10 ln viewers s premiere earlier this month and reliably lights up the openly gay, Ain Amerin creator Lee Daniels, “Empire” is polics — and urse, no filmmaker, no matter how well known, needs an exce to make what Daniels lled “black ‘Dynasty.