Lee Daniels Calls Empire the Most Horrifying Experience
Lee Daniels is not holding anything back.
The Precious director recently opened up about his experience as the creator, writer, and producer of FOX’s Empire, calling it a “horrible” time and admitting that he only took on the project out of curiosity about working with executives.
“I wanted to know what that experience was like,” he shared in an interview with Film Stage published on Sept. 4. Daniels explained that all his previous productions had been independent, and he was intrigued by the process of receiving notes and feedback from network executives.
While he initially took on Empire to satisfy his curiosity, Daniels made it clear that he never wants to work under those circumstances again, describing it as “absolutely the worst experience” and “horrible.”
Despite the negative experience, Daniels did acknowledge one positive outcome from his time on Empire, which aired on FOX from 2015 to 2020: the financial gain. “Money, money, money,” he noted.