Iman Shumpert Thinks FOX Series ‘Empire’ Is Stealing His Swag

I know what you’re thinking: This is bigger than the NBA Finals, trade deadline and free agency. Combined.

And you’re right.

Anyhow, apparently Shumpert thinks the show is ripping him and his girlfriend off. One of the main characters, Hakeem, sports a Flat Top that’s similar to Shumpert’s and has a girlfriend, Tiana, who bears a striking resemblance to the real Shumpert’s actual girlfriend, R&B singer Teyana.

Here’s Northeast Ohio Media Group’s Chris Haynes with the scoop:

Hakeem has the mannerisms, as well as the look and, strangely, the sound of Shumpert. He’s even rocking Shumpert’s patented high-top fade hairstyle.

“I don’t watch that stuff, man,” Shumpert told Northeast Ohio Media Group, an annoyed expression on his face.

“They’re using my girl’s character, her style, her look and she’s not getting anything for it,” Shumpert said of Teyana Taylor, a real-life R&B singer, dancer and actress who is Shumpert’s girlfriend. “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.

“And come on man, they’re really using a guy 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.”

In the series, Hakeem has a girlfriend named Tiana, (played by Seraya McNeill) an R&B singer and dancer who is signed to the record label. The fictional character has an eerily similar persona to Taylor.

Aside from having a first name similar to Taylor’s, Tiana has an identical hairstyle. Taylor’s signature appearance is wearing her hair in a puffed out, curly form. It’s hard not to see the similarities.

Hakeem is dating Tiana in the show.

Now, this could merely be a coincidence, but let’s look at some photo evidence, courtesy of The Associated Press and brought to us by the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

Here’s a snapshot of Hakeem and Tiana from Empire:

And here’s a picture of Shumpert’s girlfriend Teyana Taylor:

Seems like pretty damning evidence to me—especially if the musical sounds of each depicted character rivals that of Shumpert and the actual Teyana.

On that note, I must confess I do not watch the how. Like Shumpert, I have no desire to. Still, FOX could have at least gone to the trouble of changing the names and hairstyles a little bit, because this seems pretty obvious. At the very least, as Shumpert implied, they should have offered the part of Tiana to Teyena, if only to save face in the event she declined.

At any rate, this is big. Huge. Gigantic. Gargantuan.