Jamal Lyon is one of Cookie and Lucious’s three children on Empire. In fact, he is the middle Lyon son, but he often times feels like the black sheep of the family. Though he wants to pursue music, Jamal is forced to overcome the hate he receives for being a black gay man in the industry.
From his relationship past to his time in rehab, here are five fast facts you need to know about Empire’s Jamal (Jussie Smollett).
Bullied For His Sexuality
Jamal began dressing in women’s clothing at a very young age, which needless to say his father was not a fan of. Not only did his family seemingly disapprove of his sexuality, but Jamal was also bullied in school for being gay.
Once Married To A Woman
Lucious (Terrence Howard) forced Jamal to marry Olivia, a hairstylist, back when he was just 18. Olivia and Jamal split shortly after getting married, but she returned with a little girl she claimed was Jamal’s daughter. It ended up not being Jamal’s daughter, but he does his best to take care of her when he thinks she is.
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Go To Rehab
After a long history of abusing pain medication, Jamal got taken to rehab. His family staged an intervention, but it was Cookie (Taraji P. Henson) who ultimately decided he needed to go in order to get help.
Happily Ever After
After a series of bad relationships, Jamal finally decided to settle down and got married to Kai Givens in a beautiful ceremony attended by his family. The pair got married near the end of Season 5 and left on an extended honeymoon.
No Longer On The Show
Unfortunately for fans of Jamal, it looks like he won’t be returning to Empire for the sixth and final season, which is set to air this fall. It’ll be interesting to see how the show handles his departure or if the honeymoon will simply be neverending.
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