Iman Shumpert has been tuning into Empire much like the rest of the country, and the NBA baller couldn't help but see similarities in himself and the Hakeem Lyon character.
While he told TMZ that he doesn't think the story line mirrors his life, Iman does believe that Hakeem's style is very similar to his. The athlete told Cleveland.com, "They're really using a guy with a flat-top like me. Come on. That's ridiculous. They never called us. We were blindsided. We found out by our family and fans when the show aired."
Iman also added that Hakeem's love interest Tiana shares a similar likeness to his girlfriend, singer Teyana Taylor, "They're using my girl's character, her style, her look and she's not getting anything for it... They didn't even change her name. They could have at least let my girl audition for the part instead of stealing her character completely."
He later told TMZ that he meant no disrespect to the actors, and took aim at the Cleveland.com interviewer for "twisting" his words.
"I do not appreciate the writer using his questions with my answers to draw quotes like I was making these elaborate answers but that's the media. The writer took a 2-3 min convo of locker room talk after a GREAT TEAM WIN and made it look like a sit down interview and it wasn't. He twisted words to get the point that he wanted to get across. This is not that serious and though we don't watch the show we are not against it."
Source: TMZ/Cleveland.com
