Rapper 50 Cent Credits ‘Gay Stuff’ for Decline in ‘Empire’ Ratings

Empire has been a huge success for FOX, however entering season 2, the show has seen a decline in total viewers, which led rapper 50 Cent to conclude over the weekend the show is suffering because it features too much “gay stuff.”

TheWrap reports Empire ratings dipped from 16 million viewers for the Sept. 23 season premiere, to 13.7 million viewers last Wednesday. With three million fewer viewers, 50 took a shot at the music and crime drama, which he is currently feuding with, as he is an executive producer on the rival Starz series Power.

In an Instagram post that has since been deleted, the rapper who is legally named Curtis Jackson, shared a message from another user who asserted ratings dipped because the show features too many homosexual storylines.

“There are 3 million less viewers who tuned into last night’s Empire episode!!!! did you watch it? We could not take the extra gay stuff or celebrity stuff last night!!!!”

A screen grab of the post is circulating on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/search?f=images&vertical=news&q=50%20cent%20empire&src=tyah

Jackson added a comment, urging Empire’s Taraji P. Henson to call him for help with her character.

“EMPIRES TV RATINGS TOOK A HUGE HIT. Ok I’ll stop now. COOKIE CALL ME BABY. I’ll tell every body to watch the show for you. LOL,” wrote Jackson.

After the comment was criticized for being homophobic, Jackson released a statement on Monday through a representative, claiming he shared the post, having not fully read it.

“Mr. Jackson reposted something on Instagram that originated from a blog in relation to the decrease in ‘Empire’s’ ratings. When he realized there was additional content in the blog post that he did not agree with, he immediately deleted the post as that is not a reflection of his views at all,” the statement reads, per TheWrap.

Jackson is not a fan of the FOX series, which he had accused of ripping off the promotional campaign for his show.

Power set a record for most ever viewers for a Starz originals series in June with 1.43 million live same day viewers, and a weekend total of 3.62 million viewers.