Jussie Smollett Spills the Tea

In a new interview with Out Magazine, Jussie admits FOX was nervous about him supporting the #BlackLivesMatter movement because they were afraid it would hurt ratings.

Here’s an excerpt of the interview:

Not taking it for granted, staying grounded because of his family, also means being willing to walk away — and at one point in the past year he thought he might. As the heady success of Empire rolled forward last spring, picking up viewers at an unprecedented rate, there were two things on Smollett’s mind.

One: When and how would he officially, publicly be ready to talk about his sexual orientation?

And two: How would he use this new, huge platform to raise his voice against injustice, to say unequivocally that black lives matter?

There was basically full support to say or not say whatever he wanted about his orientation. He was playing a gay character on an acclaimed show created by an outspoken gay man. But there was also Taraji P. Henson’s perspective, per Smollett: “She said, ‘Who gives a f*ck? I don’t tell these motherf*ckers that I’m straight. Why the f*ck do you have to tell them that you’re gay?’ That was so O.G., and it just made me love her even more.”

When it came to calling out violence against communities of color, however, there was suddenly serious pushback. “I was told by two executives, ‘You know, maybe just wait. Just wait,’ ” Smollett says. He was planning to travel to Washington, D.C., speak on the steps of the Capitol as part of the March 2 Justice, and then help deliver a legislative package on police brutality to Congress.

“[The executives] were talking specifically about politics. My response was, ‘But they’re listening now.’ And if millions of people are listening, you should say something worth hearing.”

He paid his own way to the march. “People were telling me, ‘Don’t do it.’ But I felt like, If I lose my career based on this, then I don’t need that career.” He shrugs, acknowledging a certain amount of rhetoric. “I know damn well that this is the career for me, but I don’t know how to turn a blind eye.”

He sits forward, emphatic. “You mean to tell me just because I make movies and TV and music that I can’t talk about what’s going on in the world I live in? Really? That’s not fair. Forget that. Because I’m scared that maybe viewership is going to go down? Or my next single isn’t going to do as well? Or I won’t get a movie?” He rolls his eyes. “At some point, I was going to say what I believe anyway.” (In the fall of 2015, Empire frequently referenced the Black Lives Matter movement and many of the key issues raised by its advocates. Daniels concurs: “Many people don’t like that I’m blunt about it. I get in trouble a lot, but I don’t care.”)