Nia Long’s past diva behavior on movie sets has come back to “bite her in the butt” after reports surfaced that she was “nasty and rude” to the crew when she guest-starred on “Empire.”
“Every dog has their day. She does a lot of wrong to people, and now it’s biting her in the butt,” a source told Page Six of Long, whose credits include “Friday” and
“Big Momma’s House.” “She has a history of giving people a hard time, especially wardrobe and makeup.”
Long was allegedly so rude to the “Empire” crew, co-star Taraji P. Henson had to step in.
TMZ reported that Henson told Long, “What are you on . . . Your period?” The show’s hair and makeup staff reportedly lodged a workplace complaint against Long, the site said. Long’s reps told TMZ they were not aware of any complaints.
But we’re told this isn’t the first time Long has allegedly acted up on set. A source said she held up shooting on 2013’s “The Best Man Holiday” because “she insisted her character wear white when the director wanted everyone in black” for a funeral scene.
The source said, “She threw a huge fit and held up production for nearly an hour because she refused to wear black . . . She argued, ‘My character wouldn’t be wearing black to a funeral! She would wear white!’ They eventually gave in because they felt like it was a frivolous battle.”
Another source who worked on the project did not recall the incident, saying, “She seemed lovely to me.” But the first source said, “Nia knows she’s demanding . . . She says it’s because she’s so passionate about the art.”
“Empire” executive producer Ilene Chaiken exclusively told Page Six: “Nia is a gifted actress, and we’re grateful for the incredible work she did on ‘Empire’ in this pivotal role. Her character Giuliana is a nemesis for Cookie [Henson], and the stories in the press would appear to be conflating that fiction with reality. We can’t wait for the fans to enjoy her spectacular turn on the show. It’s pure ‘Empire’ drama.”
Long’s rep dismissed any drama by saying, “We find the timing of all of these stories to be very suspicious,” since the new season on “Empire” debuted Wednesday.