Jussie Smollett will remain jobless.
In a response to an article written by Variety, Empire’s creator, Lee Daniels says that Smollett will not return to the Fox television series for its final season. Smollett plays Jamal Lyon in the music industry drama.
@Variety @JoeOtterson This is not factual. Jussie will NOT be returning to Empire. -LD
— Lee Daniels Entertainment (@leedanielsent) June 4, 2019
The California native made headlines earlier this year when he allegedly hired two men for an assault stunt in Chicago, IL.
Prior to the revelation of details, Smollett stated that the attack was homophobic and racially motivated. Later, the two men said that the Smollet paid them to stage the attack. On the other hand, Jussie claimed to hire the Osundario brothers as personal trainers.
Therefore, he was accused and indicted for filing false statements. The back and forth went on for quite some time. After an intense investigation, Smollett remained innocent. Prosecutors dropped the 16 felony counts from the case, but the Chicago Police Department opened a $130,000 lawsuit against the 36-year-old actor in order to recover from the cost of the investigation. One can assume they pulled out all of the stops to catch Smollett in a lie. With the number of life-threatening crimes going on Chicago, it is a hope that the police department keeps the same energy.
Despite the public shaming, Smollett received the support of his Empire co-stars. Taraji P. Henson, Terrance Howard, Gabourey Sidibe and more wrote letters to the network executives encouraging them to bring back Smollett. It looks like it was going to take more than a letter.
