Co-creator of Fox's juggernaut series Empire has called out actress Mo'Nique after she made claims that she was originally cast as the now infamous Cookie.

Mo'Nique Says She Was The Original Cookie, Actress Taraji P. Henson Responds

Mo'Nique revealed recently in multiple interviews that Empire creator Lee Daniels gave her the part as Cookie in Empire as well as a role in the movie The Butler, both of which didn't happen.

Now, Danny Strong, who worked alongside Daniels in both productions shut down Mo'Nique's claims. He told Sway In the Morning earlier this week, "Well, I don't know if Lee Daniels and a conversation with Mo'Nique about it that I don't know about. I know that Lee and I were partners on this project and we discussed Mo'Nique once, very briefly. And from my knowledge...we never offered her the part."

Mo'Nique worked with Daniels in the Oscar-winning film Precious.

But Strong added that Mo'Nique was never an option to play Cookie, who is portrayed by actress Taraji P. Henson, who Strong said it was "always" going to be.

"That was just one of our earliest ideas."

As far as The Butler, Strong said, "Same exact response."

Still, he did say that Mo'Nique and Butler are "very close" so they might have had conversations with one another that he didn't know about.

Strong also took to his Twitter to clear the air Saturday.

"Mo'Nique was never offered roles in Empire or The Butler. #SettingRecordStraight".

Interestingly enough, Gabourey Sidibe, who not only has a recurring role in Empire but played Mo'Nique's daughter Precious in the film of the same name, seemed to shut down Mo'Nique's claims as well. "It's sad to see a project like Precoius, that was made with such love, be dragged through the mud by selfishness and lies," she tweeted Monday.

Check out the full interview below.

Tags
Empire Show, Television, Fox