Empire's Jsie Smollett Com Out as Gay: Watch His Ellen Interview - Variety

Contents:

• 'EMPIRE' STAR JSIE SMOLLET NFIRMS HE'S GAY
• EMPIRE 'S GAY SON IS THE SHOW'S GREATT ASSET
• ‘EMPIRE’S’ BRYSHERE GRAY: “I’M NOT GAY”
• IS BRE-Z FROM EMPIRE GAY?
• IS HAKEEM FROM EMPIRE GAY?
• ‘EMPIRE’ ACTOR JSIE SMOLLETT REVEALS HE’S GAY ON ‘ELLEN’: ‘THERE IS NO CLOSET’
• THE TRAGEDY BEHD FOX’S ‘EMPIRE’: LEE DANIELS’S FATHER BEAT HIM FOR BEG GAY
• 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE IS PREDICTABLY, HILARLY GAY
• IS KANE LIM FROM BLG EMPIRE GAY? SEXUAL ORIENTATN REVEALED!
• IS JETT KA GAY? BLG EMPIRE CAST LYNN BAN’S HBAND’S SEXUALY EXPLORED!
• IS KANE FROM BLG EMPIRE GAY? EVERYTHG WE KNOW ABOUT KANE LIM'S SEXUALY!

'EMPIRE' STAR JSIE SMOLLET NFIRMS HE'S GAY

Actor and sger Jsie Smollett is one of the breakout stars of Fox's h drama Empire, and while much of the buzz surroundg him has foced on his talents, there's also been plenty said about his the show, he plays Jamal Lyon, a gay sger and the middle son of Luc (Terrence Howard) and Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) battlg his father's real life, Smollett's sexualy has been a topic of nversatn, and now he's settg the rerd an terview wh Ellen DeGener nducted backstage at Ellen, he nfirmed that he is gay and explaed why he's never felt the need to discs his personal life. "Until his nversatn wh DeGener, Smollett nsistently refed to discs his sexualy terviews, tellg Sway on his rad show a few weeks ago that fans shouldn't assume that he's gay.

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

Earlier this week, “Empire” actor Jsie Smollett nfirmed that he’s gay a backstage terview wh Ellen DeGener, sayg, “There’s never been a closet that I’ve been . Smollett’s character on “Empire, ” Jamal Lyon, who is also gay, explor the issu associated wh beg homosexual, cludg his tense relatnship wh his father.

But the seri, which premier Wednday, mak s bolst statement wh a sgle character — a gay one. ------------LGBT story l and characters on work prime time aren’t new, but for a show steeped a genre that has a history of homophobia, “Empire” feels groundbreakg.

Those scen are jarrg and paful to watch — but also black culture, masculy often begs and ends wh heterosexualy, and homosexualy is often seen as a sful aberratn.

‘EMPIRE’S’ BRYSHERE GRAY: “I’M NOT GAY”

For a show like “Empire” — whose st is black and will likely attract a predomantly black dience — to feature a gay man who isn’t a stereotype or ic relief is bold enough s own right. But seeg on a hip-hop show mak the show feel like a game ’s unlikely that there’s a sgle black gay man who won’t be able to intify wh Jamal, who’s portrayed by Jsie Smollett. Are some of those makg roads pop and rock mic, hip-hop particular lags behd acts breakg to the this time last year I wrote about FX’s “Chozen, ” an animated edy about a gay whe rapper that uld have been a provotive skewerg of the genre’s misogynist and homophobic ways.

Instead, offered a lazy array of tired and sophomoric gay jok and lasted one that there hasn’t been progrs elsewhere. I n still remember gettg emotnal wh Frank Ocean’s poted letter on his sexualy, celebratg any time a gay rapper ma an impact on pop culture (Big Freedia’s h Fe show and Le1f’s fiery but on “Late Show Wh David Letterman” to name a few) and cheerg when big nam like Jay Z, Kanye Wt or ASAP Rocky spoke support of ’s hard not to wonr if hip-hop will ever change.

Y, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ h “Same Love” was a landmark moment, but that’s jt one song a sea of foul missiv directed at gays. 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. 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?

IS BRE-Z FROM EMPIRE GAY?

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. He mt be on his way to stardom bee he’s only been on TV for two months and yet Empire actor Bryshere Gray has already shut down Inter mors that he’s gay. He tweeted, “They funny I’m not even gay doe.

” He add, “No I’m not gay. I uld never be gay, let’s make that clear.

Jsie Smollett plays his olr brother, Jamal, who happens to be a closeted gay R&B sger. Onle, Smollett’s role as Jamal, the middle son, has spired real-life gay kids wh their stggl wh g out and acceptance.

IS HAKEEM FROM EMPIRE GAY?

Bre-Z, the actrs who plays Freda Gatz on Empire is gay and proud. In past terviews the 29-year-old has explaed how happy she is to play a gay female sce the character is not typilly seen today’s media. Is Bre-Z From Empire Gay?

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.

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

Is Hakeem From Empire Gay?

"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.

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

"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.

Throughout the history of cema, there have been grippg and groundbreakg LGBTQ+ films – stori takg the liv, history, and experienc of people who intify as gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr, pansexual and beyond.

A key shkicker the early '90s New Queer Cema movement, Araki took a baseball bat to hetero-normative culture and explored gay life on the margs durg Bh's admistratn films by turns funny, ank and anguished.

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE IS PREDICTABLY, HILARLY GAY

The Livg End is his bt picture, a so-lled 'gay Thelma & Louise', as film cric Jon (Craig Gilmore) and drifter Le (Mike Dytri), both diagnosed as HIV-posive ("the Neo-Nazi Republin fal solutn, " says Jon about AIDS), kill a homophobic p and go on the lam, offg any bigot who stand their way. It's a rare early '90s gay film which no-one di or trmatilly out. Buy on Amazon UK3 of 5048) Beach Rats (2017)Eliza Htman's send film is an timate portra of ternalised homophobia and toxic masculy, the bed force of which sends Frankie (a brilliant breakout om future star Harris Dickson) to a tailsp.

IS KANE LIM FROM BLG EMPIRE GAY? SEXUAL ORIENTATN REVEALED!

Pched very much as an antihero, Woodroof is shown as toxilly homophobic before his illns, velopg empathy for fellow gay and trans patients across the film. All that, and am Dive as a pneer who preced the trends of punk, dis and techno before they h big, and reveals the very human vulnerabily behd the sndalo on Amazon UK7 of 5044) The Mistn Of Cameron Post (2018)Conversn therapy isn't new ground for LGBTQ+ cema, but Diree Akhavan's take on one of the most sid forms of homophobia blends drama, edy, and an timate die sensibily a film that wtily rais a cked eyebrow at their ridiculo practic, whout unrmg the pa and harm they e to those forced to enter them.

They don't know she's gay. It's the b, fact, that is the Priscilla of the tle – a vehicle which needs regular repatg (most strikgly an all-pk makeover) to ver up the homophobic abe scrawled on s si, as the gang enunter iendly Aborigals and some ls-iendly townsfolk as they travel om Sydney to Alice Sprgs.

IS JETT KA GAY? BLG EMPIRE CAST LYNN BAN’S HBAND’S SEXUALY EXPLORED!

If you wouldn't st Terence Stamp as trans woman Bernatte today, Priscilla boasts great performanc om Stamp, Hugo Weavg and Guy Pearce – the tr absolutely turng out their inic lip sync performance of CeCe Peniston's 'Fally', and htg all the dramatic beats as the story unvers revelatns about their personal liv and on Amazon UK10 of 5041) Stranger By The Lake (2013)The wner of the Queer Palm award 2014, Ala Guirdie's elegant, credibly watchable film is a provotive batn of Hchck thriller, doomed love story, and perhaps the bt-acted gay porn flick ever ma. Directed by William Friedk, who later directed a more qutnable pictn of gay life Cisg, the film's place history is ensured as the first major stud picture to tackle homosexualy head on.

If subsequently divid the muny for s characters' sense of self-loathg and reprsn, sails by on top flight bchery, fluid filmmakg and serv as an important time psule pturg what meant to be gay late '60s Ameri.

IS KANE FROM BLG EMPIRE GAY? EVERYTHG WE KNOW ABOUT KANE LIM'S SEXUALY!

It's an even more powerful statement nsirg homosexualy is still currently illegal Kenya, and Rafiki was banned there due to s "clear tent to promote lbianism". Tom Hanks livers an Osr-wng turn as Andrew Beckett, a high-flyg gay lawyer who's abptly disrd om his law firm when the senr partners disver he has AIDS.

He teams up wh Denzel Washgton's homophobic attorney Joe Miller to fight back, takg the firm to urt over his dismissal. Screenwrer Ron Nyswaner is himself a gay rights activist, which permeat through his work – and Philalphia, he livers a eply affectg story that at the time served to put a human face (and, Hanks, a major hoehold name at that) to the harrowg headl.

Watchg today, 's hard to stomach Miller's unpalatable homophobia, but Demme's film also offers a betiful portrayal of Beckett's extend fay who love and support him on Amazon UK17 of 5034) The Death And Life Of Marsha P. As s tle suggts, David France's documentary is partly a celebratn of Marsha's life – beg one of the key lears of the origal Gay Rights movement and the foundatn of Pri the wake of the Stonewall rts – and also an vtigatn of her ath, as activist Victoria Cz sets out the prent day on a renewed missn to dig further to the circumstanc of her passg.