Terrance Howard

‘Empire’ actor Jussie Smollett has described how he got a little more than he bargained for when he joked on twitter that he might be leaving the hit show. Earlier this month Smollett had posted a cryptic tweet which hinted that his character Jamal Lyon might be leaving the show and fans were so unhappy that creator Lee Daniels even received death threats.

Jussie Smollett caused trouble with fans on twitter when he hinted he may be leaving ‘Empire’.

"I was thinking like my little core group of amazing fans would be like, ‘What?' But it just went so much further. Like there were calls about it and Lee (Daniels) was getting death threats about it," Smollett told Fox at a cast event on Friday (May 20).

Continue reading: 'Empire's' Jussie Smollett Will Think Twice Before He Prank Tweets Again

Sean Penn has reportedly filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against 'Empire' co-creator Lee Daniels. The complaint, which was filed Tuesday in New York Supreme Court, comes after a recent interview Daniels gave to The Hollywood Reporter, where he referenced Penn while speaking about Terrence Howard’s recent domestic violence lawsuit.

Sean Penn has filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against Lee Daniels.

In the interview Daniels said, "(Howard) ain't done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he's some (expletive) demon. That’s a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America.”

Continue reading: Sean Penn Reportedly Files $10 Million Lawsuit Against 'Empire' Co-Creator Lee Daniels

It looks like Fox is doing everything in its power to make sure their ‘Empire’ is the only one left standing. The network filed a a trademark lawsuit on Monday seeking a declaration that it has every right to use the name ‘Empire’ as the title for its hit series, after a Californian music company demanded it pay $5 million for usage of the name.

'Empire' has been a ratings winner for Fox

According to The Hollywood Reporter Fox is suing Empire Distribution, Inc, after the company claimed they owned the rights to the names "Empire," "Empire Distribution" and "Empire Recordings”. The company has also claimed ‘trademark dilution by tarnishment’ saying the series features "a label run by a homophobic drug dealer prone to murdering his friends.”

Continue reading: Fox Sues Music Company To Keep The Name Of Hit Series 'Empire'