Taraji P. Henson Says Prince’s Family Gave ‘Empire’ the Green Light for Tribute Episode (EXCLUSIVE)

We can hardly wait for Empire to return for Season 4 on Sept. 27 — and one episode we can’t wait for, in particular, is the highly-anticipated tribute to Prince. Fans and loved ones of the musician were devastated when he suddenly passed away on April 21, 2016, at the age of 57, and Empire star Taraji P. Henson, who plays Cookie on the hit Fox series, shared some ~secrets~ about the episode with Closer Weekly during an exclusive interview.

The mother-of-one explained while promoting Special K’s #OwnIt campaign that the cast and crew is not worried about backlash, because “his family members gave us the go-ahead to do it. Yes, [director] Sanaa [Hamri] was a very dear friend of his and knows the family, so we got the green light. We won’t have any issues.”

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However, it sounds like Taraji will be in for some surprises herself when it comes to this episode, as she explained, “We haven’t shot it yet. I think we shoot that when I get back — but I saw my wig! I’m channeling Prince circa ‘Purple Rain.’ I’m very excited about that wig!”

Prince was found dead in his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota, after suffering a medical emergency a few days prior. At the time, his friend L.A. Reid explained, “The thing that really bothers me about it is the Prince I know was super-healthy, vegan, wasn’t an abuser of drugs, wasn’t an abuser of alcohol. He was clean and he looked young and he looked really healthy and vibrant so the whole thing is really mysterious to me.”

MORE: Prince’s Sister Makes a Chilling Confession About the Singer’s Death

This tribute is going to be one for the books. We cannot wait to see what they do with this episode — and especially, Taraji’s wig!

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