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Writer's pictureJahquanda Lyles

FOX's Empire Makes Iconic History By Airing First Black Gay Wedding

History has just been made on Primetime Television. On Thursday, FOX's Empire became the first network television show to air a black gay wedding. The union took place between Jussie Smollett, Jamal, and his fiancé ,Kai, played by actor Toby Onwumere. Although there is still a lot of heat around Jussie and his Chicago case, people tuned in to respectfully watch what is being called the best Empire wedding. Jamal and Kai swapped vows and did the traditional jumping of the broom on the episode titled "Never Doubt I Love."


Smollett’s sister, Jurnee Smolett-Bell, posted to her Instagram before the episode aired. She shared a photo of Jamal and Kai at the altar expressing how historic the episode was going to be.



"Representation matters...whatever your beliefs are, I implore you to watch this episode. To celebrate the purity of love that we can all identify with regardless of race, religion, gender, age or sexuality....We can’t let this moment pass by simply because they don’t want to let this man live. It’s bigger than even him."


To put the icing on the cake, the legendary icon Chaka Khan performed at the fictional wedding.


“Today’s wedding is special and controversial, but my answer to all that is just love is love,” said Khan.


Twitter even had some wonderful things to say about the iconic moment.




The star-stubbed wedding was a special moment for not only the show, but the actual cast as a whole. Undoubtedly, it was a celebration of diversity, love and representation.


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