Power Book IV: Force spoilers follow.
Power Book IV: Force's JP Gibbs made an important announcement to his brother Tommy Egan (Joseph Sikora) in the Power spin-off's recent episode, revealing that he is gay. In a heartfelt moment, JP shares that he is currently going through a divorce with his ex-husband, to which Tommy nonchalantly responds "an ex is an ex".
This powerful scene of acceptance is something that star Anthony Fleming III says "means everything" to his character JP and praised his costar for his portrayal of it, saying it was "perfect".
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"It means everything," Fleming said in an exclusive interview with Digital Spy. "I think the fact JP even brought it up in the first place to someone he's just meeting for the first time is amazing – because I don't think it was easy for JP to say that.
"You know, when you're in that situation, revealing that to people can cost you. It did cost him. It cost JP his son when he revealed to his wife that he was gay. She took his son away from him.
Related: Power Book IV: Force's Anthony Fleming III discusses Tommy and JP working together
"So for him to reveal this to Tommy was, I think, a very brave moment for JP. And Tommy's reaction was everything. You know, the way he made it just this non-issue, in the moment, it was so well-played by Joseph Sikora. It was perfect. I remember shooting that scene, and not knowing how he was necessarily going to react to it.
"But he didn't even skip a beat. He made it such a normal thing, as it should be. It's just part of life. You know, they're people. All kinds of people. And I applaud Starz for taking the lead in this way, to really show representation of all kinds of people."
Fleming also went on to say that he hopes the support of Tommy means that fans will get behind JP too, allowing greater exploration of their relationship as they come to terms with finding each other.
Related: Power Book IV: Force's Anthony Fleming III reveals his reaction to Tommy's brother twist
"For Tommy to accept it the way he did in that moment, I think spoke volumes, maybe to how the rest of the fanbase will come to accept JP or not accept JP. But his reaction, you know, as the driver of this series, to me, was everything.
"And the character, I feel like now he's accepted that, we can move on with our exploration of each other, you know? Because if Tommy was resistant to that, or had something to say about that in a negative way, who knows if JP and Tommy would have taken any more steps towards getting to know each other."
Power Book IV: Force airs every Sunday on Starz in the US and Starzplay available through Amazon Prime Video, in the UK. Power Book II: Ghost seasons 1 and 2 and Power Book III: Raising Kanan are both available on the same streaming platform.
![Power (Soundtrack from the Starz Original Series) [Explicit]](https://hips.hearstapps.com/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/1567513187-51lJlVQtrgL.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:* "Power (Soundtrack from the Starz Original Series) [Explicit]")
Ultra Records Power (Soundtrack from the Starz Original Series) [Explicit]
Hannah Bird is a freelance sub-editor with over 10 years of experience in content creation and editorial across digital and print media.
Beginning as a Lifestyle and Travel Editor, Hannah's expertise has since spanned entertainment, health, wellness and science, developing a keen eye for copy editing. Bringing her research skills as an Earth Science academic, Hannah enjoys thoroughly delving into topics to explore new angles and offer fresh stories to readers, as well as priding herself on the content's accuracy.
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Shyvonne Thomas is Digital Spy's Photo Director, looking after Digital Spy's and Hearst's digital brand visuals across the board. She also writes and conducts interviews specialising in the Power shows, anything Beyoncé, family days out, as well as championing content across Black TV shows and movies.
Having started her career as Shopping Assistant for Mother & Baby and Pregnancy and Birth magazines in 2010, Shyvonne moved on to become Picture Assistant at heat magazine in 2012, before joining the Daily Star, Express and OK! websites as Galleries Editor in 2014.
Shyvonne is an NCTJ-accredited journalist and studied an honours degree in Journalism. In 2021, Shyvonne was shortlisted for the PPA Unsung Hero Award. Shyvonne is also a proud mum.
