After taking Lucious’ relationship advice and having trouble with Michael, Ne-Yo helps Jamal feel confident in his own decisions.
Empire, one of the most high-profile shows in prime time, also has some of the most progressive gay scenes on TV.
I wish I could put a clip of the scene here for you. But I can point you to it.
Hip-hop has been notoriously anti-gay. Macklemore & Lewis called out the industry in the song Same Love. Artists periodically come out and state that they are not homophobic, usually after tweeting or saying something homophobic or anti-gay, or to repudiate another artist who has.
Outright support for LGBTQ people or causes…good luck finding it.
And then there is Empire, set in the world of hip-hop music. A lead character is a 20-something gay man. He kisses his boyfriend on-screen, and not just the pristine, passionless kisses we’re used to seeing. They are the same kisses we see from any other pair. Â His boyfriend shows up at family and social functions. He’s sometimes at odds with his sexuality and his business, because he knows what hip-hop thinks of guys like him and he’s ambitious. He’s been shown with more than one guy, so toss the the-and-only-forever character-trope out the window.
And then there was a scene that’s gotten little notice featuring hip-hop and R&B icon Ne-Yo.
Jamal, played by Jussie Smollett, is recording with Ne-Yo (playing himself). Jamal is distracted, because his father has advised he not take his girlfriend, oops, boyfriend, on tour. And he’s not singing his best, not giving a deeply passionate song the voice it needs. What does his producer and mentor Ne-Yo do? Gives him unsolicited relationship advice. He talks to Jamal about his conflict about whether or not to take his boyfriend on tour by discussing his own relationships on tour. Ne-Yo doesn’t see or refer to Jamal’s relationship as anything other than a relationship. There is no gay or straight. They are just two guys talking.
Now, I have no idea how Ne-Yo, in real life, feels about gay people. Given how much he enjoyed working – collaborating – with Smollett on multiple episodes and tracks, I think it’s safe to assume he has no professional issues with it. And in that scene, it was easy to forget that this is, in fact, a television drama, because it feels real.
That’s what Empire has managed to do. It’s taken a gay character and made him a person. Not a caricature or a stereotype. A person. He’s not an angel. He’s as flawed as any other character on the show, and as talented.
If the real hip-hop world could integrate an out gay star as well as this fictional world has, who knows what kind of talent we might hear?
Photo: courtesy FOX
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