Empire Hits On #IfIDieInPoliceCustody

Last night’s Empire went topical once again, with Cookie getting hauled off by the police and shouting, "If I die in police custody, I did not commit suicide!" #IfIDieInPoliceCustody became a trending conversation after Sandra Bland, a black woman, was arrested this summer and found dead in her cell before being able to post bail. The cause of death was deemed to be suicide, and in response many black men and women took to social media posting their own #IfIDie pre-emptive posthumous notes explaining what they did not do while being held by police. Some viewers have denounced the reference for being in poor taste while others celebrated it for putting an important topic on the primetime stage. Regardless of where you come down on the issue, Empire keeps reminding us it won’t shy away from difficult conversation pieces, even if you disagree with its methods, and that Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Henson) isn't just here for the jokes and the ass slaps.