Smollett expelled from ‘Empire,’ sticks with story

As the saga surrounding him unravels, Jussie Smollett, third lead character in the widely acclaimed TV series, ‘Empire’ has been expelled from the final Season 5 episodes of the Fox series, following his arrest on Thursday. In a statement on Friday, the series executives, including Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, […]

As the saga surrounding him unravels, Jussie Smollett, third lead character in the widely acclaimed TV series, ‘Empire’ has been expelled from the final Season 5 episodes of the Fox series, following his arrest on Thursday.

In a statement on Friday, the series executives, including Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer, described the events surrounding Smollett as “incredibly emotional for all of us.”

The executives said, “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.”

Fox which had in a number of statements initially supported the actor and describing him as a “consummate professional” during his time in the series, have changed tone after his arrest.  According to a ‘Variety’ report, “Fox says it is “evaluating the situation” and “considering [their] options.” Whether or not Smollett will return to the show should it gets picked up for a sixth season remains to be seen.”

Meanwhile, the likes of Trevor Noah are taking a jab at him as they analyse his alleged attempt to fake a hate crime, which in a CNN broadcast, Superintendent Eddie Johnson of the Chicago Police, said, he did because “he was dissatisfied with his salary.”

It is for the same reason police believe Smollett sent himself a threatening letter while on the set of ‘Empire’ days before the alleged attack.

On January 29, the actor claimed to be the victim of an assault with two men hurling racist and homophobic slurs at him, beating him, pouring bleach on him, and placing a rope around his neck.

After 47 hours of questioning, the brothers Olabinjo and Abombola Osundairo, who were fingered in the saga confessed to police about being contracted by the actor to carry out the attack. They have been released without being charged. Police say they have evidence that he paid them $3, 500 and gave them $100 in cash to purchase supplies.

Although Smollett insists he is innocent, he has apologised to the ‘Empire’ cast and crew, and has been charged with filing a false police report and disorderly conduct. He has been released on bond and must give up his passport.