We already knew that her character would be named Pepper and we knew a few other things. Lee said, “Rosie O’Donnell is coming in!” So they literally came up the elevator and we all talked and cooked up this story. I heard early on that Rosie is a big fan of the show and that if anything ever came up, she’d be thrilled to join, and we said “something is going to come up because it’s Rosie!” We wanted it to be unexpected.
Rosie O’Donnell is not the first person who comes to mind in the world of “Empire!” How did she get involved with the show? When we heard that Alicia wanted to be on the show, we thought that this would be a great opportunity because we knew that they would be on fire together when they perform and it feels like exactly what would happen. Why did you want Alicia to play the woman who Jamal kisses? You’ll see in episode 10 that there’s yet another twist. The story that we’re telling, you’ll see in episode 10. The episode obviously ends with a big cliffhanger with Alicia’s character. Lee said “she wants to play a character, she wants to act, she’s really in it.” At the beginning of the season before we went to work, Lee Daniels calls me and says, “Guess who I met and she wants to be on the show?” She seems like the perfect “Empire” guest and we talked about whether she would play herself or a character. Isn’t personal agency all about being able to act on something in the moment and owning yourself and not having to explain it or justify it?”īelow, Chaiken tells Variety about this week’s slew of guest stars, plus Anika’s pregnancy and Hakeem’s bad blood with Lucious.Īlicia Keys seems like the perfect type of artist to guest star on “Empire.” How did she get involved? There are some folks who aren’t attracted to people of the opposite sex at all, but there are some gay folks who sometimes do find themselves unexpectedly and momentarily attracted. Especially when you’re involved in a creative endeavor, those sparks can flare up because when you do something creative with someone and it really catches fire, there’s just nothing sexier.”Ĭlearing up Jamal’s sexuality, Chaiken adds, “We’re very clear that Jamal is gay and Jamal is clear that he’s gay, but it just happened. “It’s a conversation that happens among gay people about sexual fluidity - about being devoutly gay, if you will, but there’s a spectrum. “The writers were already breaking a story in which - shock of shocks - Jamal hooks up with a girl, after all he’s been through,” showrunner Ilene Chaiken tells Variety of the surprising storyline. By the end of the episode, after making sweet, sweet sounds together, Skye and Jamal - who very publicly came out at the end of last season, and recently broke up with his long-term boyfriend after catching him cheating - locked lips by the piano.
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