Actor, Jussie Smollett’s character on Empire will be
removed from the final two episodes of this season following his arrest
on charges that he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself last
month in downtown Chicago.
Producers of the Fox TV show made the announcement today barely
24-hours after Smollett turned himself in to police, appeared in court
on a felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false
police report, and left jail after posting bond.
“While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our
trust in the legal system as the process plays. 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” Empire
executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian
Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer said in a written
statement.
The series, currently on a mid-season break, returns in the US on
March 13th with nine episodes. The last two episodes of the fifth season
were still being made when Smollett was charged.
