Five days before he was allegedly shot to death by a DeKalb County police officer, Anthony Hill was in a mood over the portrayal of a character with bipolar disorder on the runaway hit television show, “Empire.”
The character, Andre Lyon, was slowly, but frighteningly, spiraling out of control, ultimately flushing his mood-stabilizing medication down the toilet. Then later, in a tirade, he has to be sedated and restrained by paramedics. Hill had been discharged from the Air Force two years prior for his own bipolar disorder diagnosis. He, too, was on medication to help manage his moods, and, according to his girlfriend, he stopped taking them for a while because of the side effects. But he was also unashamed of his medical condition and concerned about the behavioral stereotypes a popular television show might unintentionally reinforce. From experience, he knew being bipolar was a complex condition.
So, with previews of the "Empire" episode already on air, Hill wrote this:
“Just so y’all know, bipolar meds are not God’s gift to be ‘a real boy’ #Empire,” Hill wrote. “Bipolar awareness is at an all time high in the young black community but y’all don’t know the half. I’m thankful for my ‘flawed brain.’”
Then he tweeted this post from his Facebook page, urging others to retweet it:
“Don’t let this whole Andre from #Empire thing turn y’all away from individuals who are other than ‘normal.’ The media continues to paint the same horrific picture of mentally affected people but I have to tell you, there are so many shades in between the extremes.”
Five days later, Hill, naked and wandering through his apartment complex, was allegedly shot twice in the chest by Officer Robert Olsen.
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