Cookie From 'Empire' Is Network TV's Beyonce So Get Used To It

Just because I asked Jesus to forgive you don't mean I do.

Okay, Empire, let's talk about it. We hate Anika almost as much as we hate her terrible engagement ring (I'm sorry but a diamond that big just looks like a shard of glass), Tiana is obviously Rihanna, Terrence Howard is weird-looking and always will be, and I think I got pregnant from binge-watching Trai Byers for 6 hours.

But most importantly, Taraji P. Henderson carries the show. Like is my queen. I don't know what she did for what kind of supernatural being, but she is perfect in literally every way. And let's be real we would have turned the pilot off if she didn't show up in Jamal's apartment.

If you haven't watched 'Empire', she's the reason to start. Here's why:

Leopard print fedora

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Leopard print fedoras ain't made for everybody. In fact, if you'd asked me before 'Empire,' I would've told you they shouldn't have been made for anybody. Not only does Cookie wear a perfectly executed leopardsemble, SHE’S WEARING A FEDORA. AND ITS LEOPARD. IT’S HORSEHAIR LEOPARD. I didn't know that I wanted one, but I do now.

She's changing the fur game

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Sorry PETA (and animals) but fur is pretty much the perfect fashion accessory and the second I have more than groceries/rent in my bank account I am buying one. Specifically this one.

Actually, Empire just has the best costume designer period.

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A FUSCIA FOX STOLE? By the way, she's wearing a bodycon maxi with this. A BODYCON MAXI. Seriously who are you? Rita McGhee, we salute you.

Her eyebrows

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THOSE EYEBROWS ARE POWERFUL. There are a lot of reasons that I want to bring a picture of Cookie to my stylist (really fighting this urge) but these are the most important.

She has pretty much the best one-liners of all time

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“DAMN!!!!” is my instant reaction to almost everything she says. And honestly it was pretty hard to choose just one gif. I keep forgetting that this show is not real life and asked my roommate, “how does she come up with these so quickly?”

She’s actually kind of an amazing mom

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Okay yes she says some things that are offensive/insensitive, but she tries so hard to be there for her kids. Even when they don’t want her to, even when they’re a-holes, even when they’re idiots (yes I’m talking to you Hakeem what is WRONG with you).

I mean, the woman went to jail so they could have a better life, and she's welcomed back with hostility for being gone? And yet she loves those ungrateful snots anyway. <3 (not u, Jamal I love you)

She doesn’t just “keep it real”

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What is so great about how they have written Cookie is that she isn’t real because she “tells it like it is” (even though she does and its the best).

She isn't a sassy black lady. She is vulnerable and dynamic. So vulnerable that she often gives people ammunition against her. She isn't ever embarrassed, and she never loses. She’s vulnerable, not weak. She's strong, not sassy.

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Amen, Cookie.