With McNeill promoted to a series regular over the summer, hopefully her character's sexuality is further incorporated into the story line. As revealed last season, the songstress is attracted to both men like Hakeem (Bryshere "Yazz" Gray) and women like India (Elizabeth Whitson). In case you forgot, Tiana (Serayah McNeill) is bisexual. The more we talk about mental health, the more aware we all become. Years ago, long before her role as Big Boo on Orange is the New Black, Lea Delaria had a bit in her stand-up act that went something like, Say what you want about prison, but it’s a great place to meet girls. Undoubtedly, "Empire" gets people talking. The character's bipolar episodes brought front and center conversations, particularly in the black community, around mental health. One of the most emotional performances of Season 1 came from Trai Byers as Andre. I'd also love to see them comment on presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ben Carson and, of course, Donald Trump. As the show has also taken minor jabs at Obama - remember Hakeem's drunken tirade that prompted an apology to the commander in chief - we know it doesn't shy away from politics.Īs the election cycle revs up, any Lyon takes on the continued conversation about police brutality and inequality is welcomed. Patti LaBelle made a minor mention of the social justice movement ahead of "The Lucious Lyon Sound" concert, an obvious sign of the show's creators' support. "You will get to see her.," she said, pausing before bursting into laughter, "after hours."
Nonetheless, Sidibe assured me that we will get to see what Becky is like out of the office.
Named J-Poppa (Mo McRae), the character is only slated to be in three episodes. In case you've been under a rock, a love interest has been cast for our new executive. With her new role, and Lucious in jail, it's going to be interesting to see how different VP Becky is from assistant Becky. All of her quips come from her being literally the smartest person in the room." "She probably has a few degrees and worked her way up to be Lucious' assistant, but like most assistants, she's too smart to be an assistant. "I like to think that Becky is really smart," Sidibe said. Though the bump in status for Becky might have been a surprise for many, Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the blond scene-stealer, thinks otherwise. One of Jamal's first orders of business was to promote Lucious' assistant to lead the artists and repertoire division of the label, a position both Anika and Cookie formerly held.