Empire

Everyone loves Taraji P. Henson on "Empire" ... but can you imagine her in the White House?? It was closer to happening than you think -- since TPH used to work inside the Pentagon.

President Cookie! Think how awesome that would've been ... boo boo kitties.

When Taraji P. Henson flashed dat ass on "Empire" there was a lot of talk she might have artificially enhanced her goodies for the scene. Well one our photos got the low low straight from TPH!

And we shoulda known ... Cookie don't play when it comes to cake.

"Empire" creator Lee Daniels says the inspiration for the show's main character didn't come from a famous hip-hop mogul ... it came in part from the Kennedy matriarch.

Lee was heading out of Equinox when he shot down rumors P. Diddy or Jay Z may have been the germ of the idea for the show. There were multiple inspirations ... a little here, a little there, but it seems the Kennedy influence loomed large.

Hint: it's not JFK.

Terrence Howard just got busted making too much cash ... according to his ex, who says even though he's getting big paychecks for a new TV show -- he still refuses to pay up the $500k he owes.

Michelle Howard says she filed a subpoena to get Terrence's contract for his new series "Empire" -- and found out he's making $125k per filmed episode. Then she went to imdb.com and found out he's shot 3 so far ... did the math ... and figured he's got a cool $375,000 to put toward his tab with her.

In the docs, Michelle says Terrence owes the cash to her, her attorneys, and also for late fees since he continues to stiff her. As we previously reported ... Terrence filed docs back in July, claiming he was broke as a joke and couldn't make the payments.