Oprah Winfrey
Television personality Oprah Winfrey (L) watches as Serena Williams of the U.S. plays against her sister and compatriot Venus Williams in their quarterfinals match at the U.S. Open Championships tennis tournament in New York, September 8, 2015. Reuters/Carlo Allegri

Oprah Winfrey will no longer be one of the guest stars to be featured in the Fox hit series “Empire” in its Season 2, which will premiere on Sept. 23. Danny Strong’s “Empire” co-creator Lee Daniels said that there was a problem with their schedule.

At a launch party for the collaboration of “Empire” with Saks Fifth Avenue at the store’s New York flagship on Sept. 12, Daniels told Vanity Fair that Winfrey has her own television show titled “Queen Sugar,” in which she is acting.

In addition, Daniels said that Winfrey is doing “Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?” which he is directing. The “Empire” executive producer explained that they could not fit her into the schedule because of the biopic and the “Queen Sugar” TV show.

Winfrey will play Marie Carter in “Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?” She will star in the biopic directed by Daniels with Eddie Murphy as LeRoy Pryor, Kate Hudson as Jennifer Lee Pryor and Mike Epps as the title character.

However, Daniels made it clear that Winfrey really wanted to be featured as a guest star in “Empire” Season 2. Thus, it is likely that she will be on the next season of the Fox hit series starring Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard as the estranged couple Cookie Lyon and Lucious Lyon.

Aside from revealing that Winfrey will no longer be part of the “Empire” Season 2 guest cast, Daniels also gave some spoilers for the show. He said the upcoming sophomore season will have fashion, intrigue, catfights and bloodshed.

According to Daniels, they are exploring the idea of talking about poverty as a theme in “Empire” Season 2 and how a person remains the same even after achieving success. He said the upcoming season will show Henson and Howard’s characters and their family and friends who are still in the ghetto.

Meanwhile, Winfrey is donating $100,000 (almost AU$14,000) to the GEANCO Foundation, which provides vital healthcare and education needs to girls in Nigeria, in her “Selma” co-star David Oyelowo’s honor. Oyelowo told The Hollywood Reporter that Winfrey influenced him in terms of his philanthropic works.

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