Chuck Hodes / FOX /ABC/RICHARD HARBAUGHTaraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard have no beef with 50 Cent over negative comments he had made about their new FOX series Empire, whose premise is similar to his Starz show Power.
In Empire, a musical drama from Lee Daniels that premiered on Wednesday, the actors play a divorced couple who used to deal drugs and are involved in a power struggle over a growing record company, led by Howard's character, Lucious Lyon. Power, in which 50 Cent serves as an executive producer and a cast member, debuted in June 2014 and is about a drug dealer who concentrates on opening nightclubs in the hopes of becoming a Fortune 500 entrepreneur.
"Empire VS. Power LADIES what's up you be the judge," 50 Cent had said on Dec. 29 in an Instagram post that has since been deleted, alongside side-by-side photos of Power star Omari Hardwick and Howard, according to MTV News.
The outlet reported that the rapper also wrote in another Instagram post that was deleted, "POWER Season 2 is unbelievably good trust me. I have the best writers and show runner. I like Terrence Howard and Taraji Henson. I don't like that they would copy the marketing."
"50 Cent is a comedian," Henson, who plays Cookie, Lyon's scheming ex-wife and mother of their three sons, said in an interview with The Wrap that was posted on Wednesday. "He loves to push buttons. He's a funny guy. I never took offense to it."
"If anything, I thought he was trying to get [a] jab at him," she said, joking, "You know, he's jealous of Terrence, his looks, Terrence is light-skinned, he's dark-skinned, you know, come on people."
However, earlier this week, Henson appeared to channel her feisty TV character, throwing a bit of shade while responding to a fan's question on Twitter about 50 Cent's remarks.
"How do you feel about what 50 cent said about you and Terrance Howard?" the person asked.
"I pay attention to $'s NOT cents?" she joked.
?@drummjr58: @TherealTaraji @KiaSoFlawless ouch! No time for small change??<~ IJS I couldn't even find the "cent" sign!! #ByeBitch ?? #Empire
? Taraji P. Henson (@TherealTaraji) January 5, 2015Howard praised 50 Cent, his co-star in the 2005 movie Get Rich or Die Tryin', in which the latter plays a reformed drug dealer who pursues a rap music career. Howard plays his fellow prison inmate, Bama, who later becomes his manager and producer. The movie involves a jail shower and fight scene in which they both appear naked.
"Fifty is my monster man. We served jail time together in his film, you know, we've been naked together," Howard told The Wrap.
"I love the fact that we're both pushing the envelope with our shows and what it says about cinema and television, how the change has occurred to where black men can be on opposing levels, because we're both telling a similar story," he added. "So it's kinda great. I'm proud of him—very proud of him."
Check out promos for both shows below.