Jamal Joseph Lyon is a fictional character from the American musical drama, Empire on Fox. Portrayed by Jussie Smollett, Jamal is the middle son of hip-hop mogul Lucious (Terrence Howard) and his wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). Jamal, a talented R&B singer and songwriter, struggles to gain his father's approval, but is able to overcome this adversity with Cookie's support. He initially expresses resentment towards fame and is hesitant to be in the limelight, but he gradually embraces it once Cookie begins to manage his career. Jamal engages in what was once a friendly competition against his younger brother and best friend Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) to determine who is more musically gifted, while maintaining a cold distance from his older brother Andre (Trai Byers) for his perpetual scheming. Jamal struggles with his father's objection to his homosexuality, which was inspired by Empire creator Lee Daniels' own relationship with his father.
In 2019, Smollett was fired from Empire after staging a fake hate crime, and Jamal was written out off the series' final season, said to be in London.
Storylines Jamal Lyon was born to Lucious (Terrence Howard) and Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson), in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the second of three sons. Jamal grew up with his brothers, father, and mother; his parents were selling drugs in the Philadelphia ghetto they lived in to finance Lucious' music career. As a child, he began to dress in women's clothing, which caused his father to throw him outside into a trash can in an effort to curb his homosexuality. In school, other children didn't like his sexuality and constantly bullied him. When Cookie was arrested for selling drugs, Jamal was the only family member that visited her in jail. Once Lucious made it big as a rapper and started Empire Entertainment, Jamal became a singer signed to the company. Despite his talent, he refuses to tour and prefers to perform for small audiences in local clubs. Jamal lives with his boyfriend Michael Sanchez (Rafael de la Fuente), a relationship of which his father strongly disapproves.
When Cookie is released from prison, she immediately visits Jamal, who lives with his boyfriend which Lucious highly neglects. She becomes his manager and convinces him to start touring and to start recording an album. Jamal becomes more independent by moving out of the expensive apartment his father paid for and into an apartment in the projects. During a recording session at a nearby studio, Jamal is held at gunpoint and nearly robbed by some of Hakeem's associates, until the studio engineer runs them off with his shotgun. Jamal confronts Hakeem over the incident and punches him, although it was in fact Andre who had set up Jamal to be robbed and staged it to appear as though Hakeem was behind it.
Jamal is visited by his ex-wife Olivia (Raven-Symoné), who informs him that he is the father of her daughter Lola. Jamal begins to bond with Lola and spends time singing to her. He and Hakeem patch up their relationship and perform together at a concert hosted by Empire Entertainment, after which Lucious reveals to them that he has ALS. Shortly afterwards, Cookie tells Jamal that she has gotten back together with Lucious, but he warns her that nothing good can come from loving his father. Michael leaves Jamal after his father refuses to acknowledge his sexuality and his relationship with Michael in public. Jamal enters a new relationship with Ryan Morgan (Eka Darville), who is hired by Lucious to film a documentary on his life. Upon Ryan's encouragement, Jamal comes out as gay to the public during a performance of Lucious' song "You're so Beautiful", which causes Lucious to cancel the upcoming family album that he planned to do with Jamal and Hakeem.
Later, during a family dinner at Lucious' house, Olivia's jealous boyfriend Reg breaks into the house and points a gun at Jamal. He demands Lola back, but Jamal angrily refuses to back down. Reg pulls a gun on Cookie when she tries to protect him, but Lucious comes forward to admit that Lola is his daughter. Before Reg can shoot Lucious, the family's personal head of security, Malcolm DeVeaux (Derek Luke) shoots Reg in the head, instantly killing him.
Jamal takes Lucious to the old Philadelphia home in which he grew up. Jamal accuses Lucious of losing his edge after becoming famous, but Lucious responds that Jamal doesn't know what it means to come from a rough background. However, Lucious ultimately recognizes Jamal's talent and decides to give him the CEO position. A jealous Hakeem and Andre plot against him with the help of Cookie. They also get Lucious' ex-fiancé and Hakeem's lover Anika Calhoun (Grace Gealey) to assist them. Meanwhile, Jamal threatens Billy Beretti into releasing the masters of Lucious's early records. Jamal refuses to allow Hakeem to push up his album release date, not wanting to put the album out too soon after his own. This causes further friction between the two, with Hakeem and Andre plotting to overthrow Jamal after Lucious is arrested for Bunkie's murder. Jamal believes that Cookie is responsible and blames her, but finds the strength to perform at Empire's celebratory concert in honor of going public on the NYSE.
Creation and development Smollett revealed that he formed a bond with Daniels and felt that because the character is loosely based on Lee Daniels own life, "whoever was going to play Jamal had to be able to bond with Lee because at the end of the day, Jamal is so close to Lee's heart that you had to tell it the way that he was truthful." Jamal's character development has been influenced by Michael Corleone of the 1972 film The Godfather. Danny Strong went on to say of the character's change throughout Season one, "[w]e always had this Michael Corleone-esque arc planned for [Jamal] where we were going to see, over the course of the season, him slowly start to turn into this father. That’s ultimately why his father chooses to make him the heir. Because he, at the end of the day, is the most like him." Ilene Chaiken stated that Jamal has always been "a Michael Corleone character". She continued, "[w]e want to see him rise to the occasion, surprise everyone by being the most cunning, the most gangster at the end of the day." Lee Daniels also thought that having Jamal's character arc being influenced by Michael defied "the stereotypical gay man up against something, and being a victim". He replied of the character, "He is (The Godfather’s) Michael Corleone, and he is his father’s son."
Casting and portrayal
On February 26, 2014, it was announced that former child star and singer Jussie Smollett known for his appearance in the 1992 Disney film, The Mighty Ducks and the short lived ABC sitcom On Our Own had been cast in the role of Jamal Lyon, the middle son of hip-hop mogul Lucious (Terrence Howard) and his ex-wife Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). Jamal is judged and rejected by Lucious because he is gay which is why he tries to avoid the spotlight, despite his exceptional talent as a singer and songwriter. Jamal "struggles with his identity and his sexuality". Smollett's sister sent him a link about the casting call and he immediately contacted his manager about it. Smollett went through the usual audition process but admitted that he immediately "connected" with the script. Because of its premise, it provided Smollett with the opportunity to act, dance, sing and write music which is what he does for a living. Smollett sent the show's creator Lee Daniels a message on Instagram and said "I know you get this all the time, but I really feel that I'm Jamal Lyon." Smollett said he thought his message made Daniels take notice of him. Smollett admitted he didn't expect Daniels would see the message. However, Daniels responded the night before the audition. At his audition the following week, Smollett performed for Daniels. Daniels referred to Smollett as a "smart little kitten" for reaching out to him directly. Smollett came back seven times and said Daniels "made me sing for my life". Of the extensive casting process, Smollett said Daniels wanted to make sure that his portrayal of Jamal was "1000 percent truthful" and "organic and authentic and real". Smollett said "It was a tough audition process, but there has never been a project that I've done that has been so rewarding."
Personality and sexuality Upon the announcement of Smollett's casting, the character of Jamal was described as "sensitive soul and musical prodigy that could easily rise to superstardom if he desires". Smollett described his character as the "heart" and the most level-headed of the Lyon family. Jamal is very loyal to those who are good to him, as he is the only person to visit his mother during her prison stint. However, Jamal avoids the spotlight because he does not want to be like Lucious. Smollett said Jamal is a very "internal person". Smollett agreed with Jamal being the show's "moral center" at least for the time being. Smollett described Jamal as the perfect blend of his parents. "He's got the edge of his father, he's got the heart of his mother." "He's very, very brave" Smollett said of his character. The actor continued, "That's what people love about him, that he's so vulnerable but yet so, so brave and so strong…. Jamal is all about these bold subtleties of strength." Jamal is arguably the most talented member of his family. He is a singer and songwriter. According to Jussie Smollett, Jamal "struggles with knowing how good he is but he isn't sure if he wants to pursue a full fledged career as a performer because of the "scrutiny and the judgement that comes with it". Smollett explained that Jamal's music is very similar to his own. Jamal prefers to keep his music "pure".