Iman Shumpert Has Beef With Empire For Stealing Teyana Taylor’s Identity (News)

Did Empire producers Google Teyana Taylor when coming up with Tiana ? Seems like every other day somebody is claiming to be an inspiration behind a character on Empire. Reality spitfire Joseline Hernandez thought Cookie Lyon was all her before Taraji P. Henson quickly killed that noise and revealed her character was inspired by Lil Kim. Diddy’s youngest son, Christian, posted up a pic recently, implying that he and his brothers Justin and Quincy are the real Lyon boys. Now NBA player Iman Shumpert is side-eying the show because Tiana, who plays Hakeem’s industry girlfriend, reminds him of somebody — his chick Teyana Taylor! The Cleveland Cavalier is not okay with Empire producers seemingly swagger jacking Teyana, who like Tiana, is also a R&B singer, dancer and actress, and not cutting a check. Speaking with Cleveland.com, Iman notes the similar styles and the fact that both women have the same name as enough receipts to prove Empire’s Tiana = Teyana. They’re using my girl’s character, her style, her look and she’s not getting anything for it. They didn’t even change her name. They could have at least let my girl audition for the part instead of stealing her character completely. In fact, he also thinks they stole a bit of his own style for Hakeem, referencing the youngest Lyon son’s high top. And come on man, they’re really using a guy [Hakeem Lyon] with a flat-top like me. Come on. That’s ridiculous. They never called us. We were blindsided. We found out by our family and fans when the show aired. Her fans are more mad about it than I am. I’m a ball player, but that’s her field. That’s what she does. Me personally, I don’t plan on taking any action but I don’t know about her. The Hakeem comparison could be classified as a strong reach due to the fact that Bryshere Gray had a flat top before he was even on Empire as Hakeem. The Teyana/Tiana comparison though?