One of my guilty pleasures is Empire. While people are comparing this show with nighttime soaps of yesteryear like Dynasty, it’s clearly Shakespearean – borrowing more than just a bit from King Lear, with hints of The Merchant of Venice thrown in. While everyone in the cast pulls their weight, the delicious Taraji P. Henson gets the lion’s share of attention…and with good reason! She’s simply sublime. But didya know that the role of Cookie could have gone in a whole different direction? According to Mo’Nique, she was offered the part first. “Mr. Daniels offered me the part of Cookie, and I have the emails and the sides to go along with it.” She claims to have been waiting for information on where the screen test was supposed to be, but no details were forthcoming. However, the executive producer and co-creator of the show Tweeted, “Monique is so talented she’d be great in almost anything. But Cookie was always @TheRealTaraji”. I’m sure it was simply one big misunderstanding. Maybe someone simply offered Mo’Nique a cookie!