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Lee Daniels’ Opens Up About Breaking Down Shooting A Scene On ‘Empire’ & Mo’Nique Being Blackballed In The Industry

Lee Daniels

Grant Lamos IV/ Getty

If you’re as much of a fan of “Empire” as we think you are, watching certain scenes tug your heart strings like the time Lucious threw his son Jamal in the garbage after the young boy dressed up in his mother’s clothes. That could be because that scene wasn’t contrived, it was real and from a pages out of director Lee Daniels’ life.

Daniels included his personal moments in the “Empire” script, which is what separates it from any other show on TV right now. The award-winning director sat down with Don Lemon on CNN and opened up the heart-wrenching scene.

“I couldn’t direct the scene, I broke down in tears,” he revealed.”

You may also remember Lee Daniels making headlines after Academy Award winning actress Mo’Nique revealed he told her she was blackballed from the industry after “Precious.”

“I didn’t say that exactly,” he said. “We were on the campaign and she was making unreasonable demands. This is when reverse racism happens. You have to thank the producers on the film, you have to thank the studio and I think she didn’t understand that. I said listen, people aren’t going to respond well ya know?”

He added, “sometimes artists get in their own way.”

Watch the clip below:

UP NEXT: Mo’Nique To Play Opposite Queen Latifah In “Bessie”

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.