The hit Fox series EMPIRE left it’s mark with stellar ratings for it’s premier season but it seems that while the scripted urban drama has its fans, it also has an equitable share of critics.

[READ: Empire Finale Draws Record Breaking Ratings! Was it Everything You Expected?? (WATCH FULL VIDEO)]

Tavis Smiley is one EMPIRE’s detractors, and he voiced his opinion about the show’s lack of positive characters during a recent interview with Larry King, stating that the popular show reflects the ‘worst’ of black people.

“There is a debate in the black community that hasn’t really surfaced, hasn’t really boiled to the top yet, but I hear it in barbershops and other places,” Smiley says,

“that whether the problem with Empire is that it advances the worst of every pathology that black people have—crime and drug dealing and this and that and the other. A lot of people are looking for positive characters that may come out in the second season. But the first season, everybody is like, ‘Arhhh!’ ” Smiley stated.

Watch video of Tavis Smiley’s interview + Lee Daniel’s response to the criticism below…. Continue Reading…