Lee Daniels Clarifies Empire Emmy Snub Outrage: "People Take Things Out of Context"

Empire co-creator Daniels explained his f-bomb-filled tirade against the Emmys after Empire's best drama snub

By Lauren Piester Aug 07, 2015 1:25 AMTags
Lee Daniels Valerie Macon/Getty Images

No sour grapes here!

Lee Daniels was definitely not thrilled when this year's best drama nominations were announced and Empire was not among them, and he made that very clear with an Instagram video saying, "F--k these motherf--kers." 

Time, however, seems to have softened those feelings, if they were ever real to begin with, and Daniels seemed to have changed his tune when he addressed critics while promoting Empire at Fox's summer press tour on Thursday. 

"I spoke to my cast when we didn't get the Emmy nomination, and I told Terrence and everyone, we are lucky to be employed," Daniels said. "We are blessed. God has blessed me to be employed and to be in front of you right now, and in a show that I enjoy going to work to. I could be unemployed. So many of my peers, people that I respect, are unemployed, so I am honored to just go to work." 

As for that video and the fact that he called the Emmy voters "motherf--kers," Daniels claims there was no disrespect intended. 

"I think people take things out of context. If you follow me on social media, you'll get my sense of humor. You'll get a sense who it is that I am," he said. "I'm so happy that my friends… I have intimate friends from other shows that I am really good friends with that got nominated, and deservedly so. We got a lot of good shows on TV. So I think that…Que sera sera…It is what it is. It's all good. We got three, guys! Taraji, and we got two costume, yeah. So I'm excited for them." 

"I think people dwell on the negative and stuff, and looked at it like oh, sour grapes," Daniels continued. "It really wasn't sour grapes. If you studied my instagram, you'd see that there is a real sense of twisted humor that was there and a deep appreciation for the Emmys, and certainly no disrespect or outrage at all. Yeah, of course it would be nice to have an Emmy nomination, but I realize that there's next year, or the year after." 

After all, if the show continues to break records and blow our minds the way it did last season, a best drama Emmy can't be that far away, right?

Empire season two premieres on Wednesday, Sept. 23 on Fox. 

Watch: Mariah Carey Joins "Empire" Cast in Season 2