The story of Jamal Lyon, played by Jussie Smollett in the television show Empire, has broken my heart too many times. I am very much a sap, especially when it comes to books, shows, and movies (please, don't remind me of the Red Wedding because I still have serious emotional flashbacks - my father suggested I stop watching Game of Thrones after he saw my reaction) yet, I didn't realize Empire would also bring the waterworks.
Jamal Lyon is the middle child of three young men who are, in some way, heir to the empire. In the beginning of the show, we already are introduced to his (super attractive) boyfriend and the clear tension between Jamal's sexual orientation and his father's refusal to accept him. Here, of course, I was crying every time there was a flashback to Lucious Lyon (father and "emperor" in this case - or maybe "king?") abusing Jamal for showing any outward affection toward women's clothing or acting flamboyant (he honestly threw Jamal in a trash can after the child wore his mother's shoes and I was just weeping into my keyboard at that point).
The history between Lucious Lyon's conflicted beef with his openly gay son is troubled, to say the least. It's dramatic and much too long to go into in depth. Yet now, in the most recent episodes of the series (spoiler alert?), another layer of complexity is now in play.
In the Season 2 fall finale, we are left with questioning Jamal's sexuality because he and another singer, Skye (Alicia Keys), hooked up after having an intense sing-along. Frankly, when I saw this initially, I had to roll my eyes because I knew what would come - at least in his father's case. If they actually dated, no one would take Jamal seriously because (obviously) you must always be exactly what everyone expects you to be (another eye roll). If you are "gay" then you can only be with men. If there is any hint that Jamal was with a woman, then (particularly anti-gay) people would question his identity. I had no idea how the show would handle it either - would this be time to discuss fluidity? Or would it be botched and confusing? I even heard a couple of older family friends joke about how they knew Alicia Keys could "turn" Jamal and that it made sense (ugh).
Of course (and how could I doubt), Empire came through.
Obviously, Lucious learns about Jamal and Skye's hook up (a one off thing that they addressed and ended, acknowledging that it was fleeting but that they both had deep - even if not romantic - feelings for each other). He thinks to himself, finally, my son has ended his "gay phase" and is now someone I can actually respect and accept (ha, no).
Lucious then decides to play dirty, which is not at all surprising because he's a power hungry, egotistical emperor. He tells Jameson Winthrop, an influential gay man who had been eager to help Jamal, as a young, openly gay artist, that clearly, his son is no longer gay. One thing leads to another, and next Jameson tells Jamal that he cannot support him because Jamal would be the wrong figurehead. Jameson claims that Jamal being seen with another women intimately would simply allow others to continue thinking that being gay is a choice. Infuriated, he then lists all of the countries where homosexuality is punishable by death to the young man (as if he is able to change all of this based on who he sleeps with).
Jamal essentially tells Jameson to f*ck off, saying it's none of his business. Later, Jamal discusses the issue with his mother, Cookie, who classily asks if he's a "wishy-washy, confused bisexual." I found this scene to be heartwarming, which I realize sounds odd in this context.
Cookie has always supported and stuck up for her middle son, despite her ex-husband's homophobia. In this conversation, Cookie is actually asking her son about what's going on in his life and attempting to breach an often-difficult-to-discuss barrier on sexual fluidity. Cookie, probably like many other parents in her generation, most likely does not think about sexuality as something fluid, that can change and can be ephemeral (by this, I mean that people can sleep with people and if you want a label, have a label, but you don't need to pigeon-hole yourself into one thing at all times). Jamal asks his mom if she's ever slept with a woman (and she dismisses the question) and then says:
"Look, all I’m saying is that sometimes things happen, you know? You feel a certain way and you… You act on it or you don’t. Just because I have sex with, uh, two women in my entire life doesn’t mean, you know, I’m straight or bi or anything. I’m still a gay brother looking for a man."
I LOVE THIS. It didn't make me cry, but more I grinned from ear to ear and giggled. It was a little embarrassing. While Jamal's situation is unique because he is a public celebrity who is openly gay, he still asserts his own choices and understands them in the context of his identity.
Then, it gets juicy. Jamal performs at the ASA Awards show a new song where he tells everyone, particularly Jameson, that what he does and who he does it with is NOBODY'S BUSINESS so he dances sexually with both a man and a woman on stage and everyone in the audience (both in the show and probably watching on tv) dropped their jaws (and maybe, their drawers). Again, he's telling Jameson to f*ck off and mind his own business. LOVE.
Unfortunately, Jameson is not the only person who is on Jamal's case. After his performance, Jamal gets swarmed by a group of men who sing a remix of his brother's song "Drip, Drop" that they replaced with "Flip Flop." The group then sings part of this song to Jamal and throws colorful flip flops at him. It sounds a little ridiculous as I write it, but this act is extremely significant. The group is accusing Jamal of "flip flopping" on his sexual orientation thus considering him inauthentic or illegitimate in his identity.
Jamal has been formidable throughout these harsh attacks. He has been so inspiring and has stood his ground. He's so right - it's no one's business. I can't wait to see what the rest of the show has in store for him because he can weather almost anything. Thank you, writers of Empire, for creating this space for a discussion on sexual fluidity which is often overlooked and ignored in mainstream media.
