Homophobia continues to rear its ugly head as we recently learned some not so surprising news concerning Fox’s nit new series, Empire. Many shows use test audiences to predict how regular television audiences will receive an episode of a show before it airs. Even though Empire has been a ratings monster with nationwide audiences, its rating plummeted with test audiences. Why? The gay kiss between Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett) and his boyfriend, Michael (Rafael de la Fuenta).
Apparently, Black America was not ready for a same-sex kiss, but the producers of the show decided to keep it in any way. “The test audiences they showed this to…the ratings plummeted,” she said. “They did not like that scene at all…” In a discussion with the co-creators they go on to say they kept the scene because hey are aiming to “push buttons with this show” and deal with “real issues, rich topics that really resonate.” To put it plainly, people are going to have to ge tit over. The kiss did not stop the show from growing and it continues to climb in ratings week after week. If you do not like what you are seeing on television then here’s a thought--CHANGE THE CHANNEL!
