‘Power’ season 4: 50 Cent’s interest in leaving after Golden Globes snub only hurts the fans
Well, this escalated quickly…
We’ve said for years that we love “Power,” and feel like it is one of the most-underrated shows out there. However, at the same time we recognized long ago that this was a show unlikely to get nominations at the Golden Globes. It’s too gritty, doesn’t always get a ton of press, and while the HFPA may be better than some other awards-shows out there when it comes to recognizing diversity (ahem, the Oscars), they haven’t quite gotten where they need to just yet. There’s always room for progress.
What is especially saddening is when we see posts like the one we saw on Instagram from executive producer / star Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson this morning, one where he claimed that he’ll no longer promote the show beyond contractual obligations and that his character “must die” over the course of the fourth season. Here is some of what he had to say:
“I’m on the move again, Golden globe’s can suck a d–k. I accept my series POWER was not intended to be a signature show for the network but it is the highest rated show.”
First of all, we hope that he’s just speaking in the moment. We would definitely understand that, given that 50 would be far from the first person to be upset over a slight from an awards show. He’s justified for feeling that way. He’s also right that “Power” is the highest-rated show for Starz, and the way that its ratings have improved over the past few years is incredible. He deserves a ton of credit for that both in terms of his performance and his work off-screen making it feel authentic along with showrunner Courtney Kemp and many of the writers.
This is where our roads diverge. For 50, we hope that he recognizes that the act of creating a wonderful show should be reward in itself. There are millions of people who are watching this show because they love him, and isn’t that admiration enough? Think over the years about some of the wonderful shows that are perpetually ignored; “Sons of Anarchy” never won an Emmy in a major category, it took Jon Hamm the entirety of “Mad Men’s” Emmy run in order to get one, and Steve Carell never won for “The Office.” Even “Outlander,” another great show on Starz, is snubbed year in and year out for the Emmys.
Awards shows are nice, and they’re a nice bit of validation for all your hard work. In the end, though, they’re just a fancy trophy or a chance to attend an awards show. 50 doesn’t owe his fans anything, since he didn’t enter the business of “Power” proclaiming that he would be a part of it for six seasons. Yet, we just hope that if he does ever leave, it’s because it makes sense for Kanan to go (which it might, given what he’s been up to with Tariq as of late) rather than him leaving because he’s upset about a snub. His character deserves so much better than that, and he’s discounting his own abilities letting something like what happened this morning get to him.
Before concluding, here’s one other message to awards shows: Even if you don’t feel like 50 is worthy, please consider Lela Loren, Omari Hardwick, or Joseph Sikora. Really, just consider the whole cast. They’re all fantastic.
Ultimately, we’ll see what happens when “Power” returns next year, but feel free to share your thoughts on 50’s comments below. You can also head over here to get some other news when it comes to the show. (Photo: Starz.)