Empire actor Jussie Smollett apologized to the cast and crew of the FOX show, however, he remained to his statement of not being behind the attack that has dominated headlines all month. In reaction to the charges placed against Smollett by the Chicago Police, Empire officials have removed Smollett’s character, Jamal, from the final episodes of the show for the season. The decision was revealed in a statement.
“The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us. Jussie has been an important member of our EMPIRE family for the past five years and we care about him deeply. While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out. We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of ‘Jamal’ from the final two episodes of the season.”
The statement was submitted by the show’s executive producers, Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo, and Dennis Hammer. Smollett posted bond Thursday and went to the studio where Empire is filmed, however, TMZ reports some of his castmates want Smollett fired.
