‘HORRIBLE!’

Lee Daniels Says Making Hit Fox Show Was ‘Worst Experience’

Daniels said there was lots of drama behind the scenes of “Empire,” but money from the show helped put his kids through college.

Director and producer Lee Daniels says making his hit show Fox drama Empire was a “the worst experience.” The series, which ran for six seasons, chronicled the Lyons family’s rise and fall as hip-hop music heavyweights, with Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard starring as the family’s matriarch and patriarch, respectively. Daniels made the comments in an interview with The Film Stage published on Wednesday. “Horrible. Absolutely the worst experience. Horrible!” Daniels said of making the show with the studio. “But guess what? F–king that money, money, money! I was able to put my kids through college and s–t. So that in itself was worth it,” he added. The show, while critically-acclaimed, was plagued with on-set drama. Namely from the Jussie Smollett saga, when the actor claimed he was subjected to a homophobic and racist attack. He was later found guilty of fabricating the incident but maintains his innocence. Daniels has moved on to other projects, such as his new film The Deliverance, in which Glenn Close gets possessed by a demon.