Nia Long Threatens Lawsuit After Being Accused of Unprofessionalism on ‘Empire’ Set
Nia Long is reportedly threatening to sue the cast, crew and production of Fox's popular drama Empire after reports surfaced of the actress’ purported unprofessional behavior on the set.
According to TMZ, Long and Taraji P. Henson reportedly butted heads on the Empire set because Henson wasn’t happy with how Long was treating the staff. It got so bad that producers were trying to figure out how to shoot scenes with the two of them.
Insiders told the gossip website that Long has been very disruptive on the set on several occasions. The hair and makeup team have a formal complaint against Long for mistreatment. They say the veteran actress was extremely disrespectful to them after she didn’t like her look. The sources also claim that Long was habitually late to the set, which caused more problems. One time, Long so late that producers used a stand-in for Nia so Taraji and Terrence Howard could rehearse a scene.
A rep for Nia released a statement denying reports of complaints from the set.
"We stand by our comments this morning that Nia has always, and continues to be, a consummate professional on set. In respect to her working relationships with the cast, she came onto this project, in the first place, because of her long-standing friendship and professional relationship with Terrence Howard," it reads.
"We are not aware of any complaint, suit or case against her from anyone involved in the show, and we find the timing of all of these stories to be very suspicious, given that the series returns tonight," it continues.
Season 3 of Empire will air every Wednesdays at 8PM ET on Fox.