Empire

Terrence Howard’s ex-wife Michelle watched "Empire" closer than most fans because if Terrence earns over a certain amount he has to fork over a huge check. And you guessed it ... his $125k/episode is way over the amount.

Translation – Michelle suddenly LOVES "Empire!!"

Count Marlon Wayans among those who believe the world is not ready for the N-word on "Empire," because what big company wants to be associated with that?

Wayans was leaving the gym Monday afternoon when our photog asked him about the topic that seems to have divided the show -- Terrence Howard is for using the word, but some of the writers and Taraji P. Henson are against it.

It doesn't sound like Wayans is against using the word in general -- you gotta hear his slave chains metaphor -- but he thinks sponsors would drop like flies if Lucious Lyon started tossing it around.

Someone else is digging into Lucious Lyon's pockets -- Terrence Howard's real life ex-wife is demanding a chunk of his "Empire" salary.

Michelle Howard is already supposed to get $5,800 per month from Terrence -- but according to new docs ... she stands to benefit greatly from his astronomical success on the FOX show, and here's why.

The deal is Michelle gets 21% of anything Terrence made over $62,500 in the first 3 months of this year. As we previously reported ... Michelle says Terrence pulls in $125k per episode -- and sources tell us 3 episodes were shot this year.

We did the math, and he needs to cut her a check for about $65k. That's just from his "Empire" money. Remember, Terrence has another show -- "Wayward Pines" -- debuting on FOX this year ... so she'll get some chunk of that.

"Empire" star Bryshere Gray is among the 10% of the American population that is actually saving cash.

Gray flew into Reagan National Airport in D.C. Sunday when our photog Colin asked him about his new-found wealth.

Taraji P. Henson says her son was racially profiled by cops on 2 different occasions -- but police video of one of the incidents completely refutes that claim ... because the officer could NOT have been nicer.

The "Empire" star recently complained her 20-year-old son Marcel Johnson was pulled over by a Glendale, CA officer who illegally searched the car, cited him for marijuana possession, but didn't ticket him for the original infraction.

Watch the dash cam video of the full stop ... the officer pulls over Marcel for allegedly failing to yield at a crosswalk. When the officer asks Marcel if he has anything illegal in the car ... he confesses he has some marijuana. The officer actually thanked him for being honest.

When you see the clip ... it's hard to say the cop had it out for Marcel. As for the alleged illegal search ... the officer says he smelled the weed -- which alone would give him probable cause, plus Marcel copped to it.

Taraji says the 2nd incident went down at USC when police allegedly stopped Marcel for "having his hands in his pockets." No video of that one yet.

"Empire" star Malik Yoba is shooting down the rumors he was fired from the hit show because he was abusing drugs -- and he's getting an apology from the guy who spread the rumor in the first place.

Malik came on TMZ Live to set the record straight, telling us he spent money to find the blogger behind the false report -- which unfortunately spread like crazy on the Internet. He assured us he's never had any issues with substance abuse ... a claim he says anyone he's ever worked with would support.

In fact, Malik explained how "Empire" creator Lee Daniels had his back when the rumor started spreading.

"Empire" stars Andre Lyon and Anika Calhoun are family on-screen ... but off-screen the actors may be hooking up.

Check out this video of Trai Byers, who plays Andre, and Grace Gealey, the now-famous Boo Boo Kitty. They went to a wedding together and people who went to the reception tell us they were super affectionate at times, but still conscious people were looking.

The bride and groom -- Lauren Whitney Johnson and Cedric Sanders -- are both actors, but nowhere near as famous as Lucious' oldest son and ex-fiancée.

FOX claims there's nothing special about the word "Empire," and the network has now filed a lawsuit trying to torpedo a demand by a record label laying claim to the name.

The label is called Empire Distribution -- they do distribution and publishing as well with big artists like Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Too Short, N.O.R.E. and Sean Paul. The label claims FOX has no right to use the name Empire because the show tarnishes its brand.

Empire Distribution has claimed it's being hurt because the fictitious label on the show is run by a "homophobic drug dealer prone to murdering his friends."

Empire Distribution is willing to live with the taint, but only if Fox pays $8 million ... $5 million if the show uses Empire Distribution's artists as regulars.

But now FOX has filed a lawsuit asking a judge to declare Empire Distribution's demand bogus. In the new world order, Fox notes that Empire Distribution is relatively obscure, showing up on the 7th page in a Google search.

Vernon Turner got offed during the epic season finale of "Empire" ... and Malik Yoba just told us how he got the news his character was going to be the one to go.

Malik came on "TMZ Live" and laid out the painful moment Lee Daniels informed him his services would not be needed for Season 2 -- and it's a real kick in the gut. Let's just say he was doing charity work AND promoting the very show ... that was about to dump him.

"Empire" creator Danny Strong seems fascinated by the prospect of a mashup between his show and "Scandal."

Strong was out Wednesday night celebrating the season finale of his EPICALLY popular show when we asked about the possibility of the two biggest shows on social media colliding.

Gabourey Sidibe needs some fresh air ... especially with the "Empire" actress' star burning so hot.

Sidibe is definitely back on top again as Becky Williams in Fox's ridiculously popular new show, so it's good to see her out and about on a sunny Monday stroll in Studio City, CA.

Since her Academy Award nomination she's had pretty steady work ... including juicy roles in the last two seasons of "American Horror Story" ... but we have a feeling "Empire" is going to go the distance.

Strut yo stuff, girl.

There's a big divide between "Empire" star Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard ... he wants more of an authenticity boost but she doesn't want the N-word anywhere near their hit show.

Our TMZ photog asked Henson straight up if she thinks "Empire" should use the inflammatory word to give the show street cred. Seems she's siding with writer David Rambo.

If "Empire" really did rip off one of its characters from real-life NBA star Iman Shumpert -- you can't blame Terrence Howard ... 'cause Terrence says he's honestly never even heard of the guy.

As we previously reported, Iman suggested that producers based the characters of Hakeem and Tiana after him and his GF Teyana Taylor ... and pointed to their hairstyles as evidence.

But if that's true ... it's definitely news to the star of the show, Terrence Howard ... who told us he doesn't know Iman and he doesn't watch basketball.

That's ok ... Iman says he doesn't watch "Empire" either.

NBA star Iman Shumpert tells TMZ Sports ... he does NOT hate the show "Empire" -- and does not believe producers ripped off his life for a story line ... despite reports to the contrary.

Earlier today, it was reported that Shumpert was calling out "Empire" -- claiming two of the characters were direct rip-offs of himself and his GF girlfriend Teyana Taylor ... and even sported similar hairstyles.

But Shumpert says the whole thing has been blown out of proportion ... saying, "The 'Empire' story pertaining to myself and my girlfriend Teyana has gotten out of hand."

"Fans of the show and friends have told us on many occasions that couple favors us but we do not at all feel that our lives are being copied/stolen."

Shumpert continues, "I apologize to the actors on the show because they're just being professionals and don't deserve slander that's not what I was trying to portray and I have to be more careful with my choice of words."

"I do not appreciate the writer using his questions with my answers to draw quotes like I was making these elaborate answers but that's the media. The writer took a 2-3 min convo of locker room talk after a GREAT TEAM WIN and made it look like a sit down interview and it wasn't."

If you think "Empire" is a huge TV sensation now ... just imagine if you could hear the n-word during those heated scenes! Terrence Howard thinks it would add authenticity.

One of the show's honchos isn't quite ready to add it yet. Not without a black-approved stamp, anyway!

Mo'Nique just did something remarkable ... fearlessly speaking out about her feud with Lee Daniels -- one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood -- for claiming she's been blackballed.

The 2010 Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress came on TMZ Live to reveal what went down when her "Precious" director Daniels -- who's also co-creator of "Empire" -- called her to say Hollywood execs think she's "difficult" ... and don't want to work with her.

Actors almost never take on a director in public, but this interview is different -- Mo'Nique did not back down to Daniels. As for what started the beef -- Mo'Nique thinks it's all because she didn't name drop someone during her Oscar speech. Check out the clip.