Why Taraji P. Henson Fired Her Team in Wake of ‘Empire’ Ending

Taraji P. Henson was fired up after Empire. The actress played Cookie Lyon on all six seasons of the Fox musical drama, which came to an end in 2020. The series became one of the network’s most-watched television shows. It was such a success, in fact, that it was announced that a spinoff was in development just a few months after the finale. The series would focus on Cookie and was part of Henson’s first-look deal at 20th Century Television.

Once Fox passed on the pilot, it was shopped to other networks, but ultimately did not go through. Via ET, Henson spoke to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation about Empire and what happened. She shared that she had fired “everybody after Cookie. Everybody had to f—in’ go.” The Color Purple star wanted to capitalize on the fan-favorite character and was surprised that it wasn’t happening at all.

“Where is my deal? Where’s my commercial? Cookie was at the top of the fashion game,” Henson explained. “Where is my endorsement? What did you have set up for after this? That’s why you all haven’t seen me in so long. They had nothing set up.” While there was the spinoff, Henson only had one condition for it: that it was done “right.”

“All they wanted was another Cookie show, and I said, ‘I’ll do it, but it has to be right. The people deserve – she’s too beloved for y’all to f— it up.’” Henson shared. “And so, when they didn’t get it right, I was like, ‘Well, that’s it,’ and they had nothing else. ‘You’re all f—in’ fired.’” Considering how popular Empire was, it’s definitely surprising that Fox didn’t try something more with the series. It also makes sense why Henson didn’t want to follow through with the spinoff, and it just shows how much she cares for the character and the show.

It’s been almost four years since Empire’s final season and it sounds like Taraji P. Henson is still salty about the direction the series and her character were taken in. While some may think she went a little far by firing her team, it doesn’t sound like she has any regrets about it. She knows what she wants and what she deserves. It’s always possible that a new Empire series centering on Cookie Lyon could happen in the future, or a different Empire series. If it’s done right, that is. For now, all six seasons of Empire are streaming on Hulu.