The curious case of Jussie Smollett and the is there or wasn’t there a hate crime committed against the actor back in January has been a fascinating one, to say the least. What began as unwavering support for the actor who was allegedly attacked in a hate-fueled assault on his race and sexuality, turned into a circus when the tables were turned and Smollett was charged with a crime due to the fact that the Chicago P.D. believed he faked the attack.
Chicago prosecutors dropped all charges against Smollett, stemming from the accusations that he staged the January attack to gain publicity, but that’s done little to diminish the story or the criticism against the actor. He has been sued by the City of Chicago for the cost of the investigation and it seems as if many people still believe that he fabricated the incident.
Smollett has the support of his Empire castmates it seems because many of them have attached their name to an open letter to Fox with a plea that they allow Smollett to return to the show next season. It’s a big show of support and definitely shows the divide between those who know him and the public at large who don’t seem to buy the story he was trying to sell. Here is the open letter in full from the cast of Empire:
“Dear Charlie, Dana, Michael, Lee, Danny, Francie, Brian, Sanaa, Dennis, and Brett,
Together, as a united front, we stand with Jussie Smollett and ask that our co-star, brother and friend be brought back for our sixth season of Empire.
We understand the past months have been difficult to process — sometimes the headlines brought more confusion than clarity, yet we now have a conclusion to this ordeal. Throughout Empire’s five seasons working with Jussie and watching how he has conducted himself throughout this traumatic event, we have come to know not just the character Jussie portrays, but also truly come to know Jussie’s personal character. He is kind. He is compassionate. He is honest and above all he is filled with integrity. He is also innocent and no longer subject to legal uncertainty with the criminal charges against him having been dropped. We are confident in his lawyer’s assurance that the case was dismissed because it would not have prevailed.
Jussie has shown us on and off the set who he really is as a leader. In addition to being a caring friend and cast member who treats every crew member with love and respect, he has spent time with our families and individually supported each of us. These recent and detailed letters from The Black AIDS Institute, the Rainbow Push Coalition and the City Lights Orchestra shine a light on his commitment to true community service. Just a few months ago, Jussie partnered with the Trevor Project to provide support to their volunteer program that allows LGBTQ youth in crisis access to vital counseling services. Prior to that, he gave every cent from his sold out world tour to numerous charities. He has adopted a school in Chicago, taught songwriting to incarcerated youth at the Cook County Jail last year and bought the family of Kayden Kinckle, a six-year-old, double amputee, a wheelchair accessible van due to his school district not having a wheelchair accessible school bus. He has traveled to South Africa for service as well as to Jamaica to quietly meet about the safety of LGBTQ youth. This was all done without posturing, the need for attention or even discussion.
This is the Jussie we know.
It’s clearer every day that the extreme political climate in our country has only made our system of justice and the court of public opinion more unjust.
It is why now, more than ever, we must stand together as a family. A family is there for us in good times and bad. It can cut through the noise and confusion to understand that there is a person in the center of all this who deserves nothing more than to move forward with his life. We understand that this show is a business. And that business matters to us as well. We are confident our fans will welcome our “Jamal” back into the Empire family as enthusiastically as we will.
That is why we write today to ask you to keep Jussie on the cast so that we can all put this behind us and move forward. Thank you for taking time to hear us. It’s our hope that together we will move into our sixth season as the entire Empire family should.
SINCERELY,
Terrence Howard
Taraji P Henson
Bryshere Y. Gray
Trai Byers
Gabourey Sidibe
Nicole Ari Parker
As you can see, the names attached aren’t secondary players on the show. Stars Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson are at the top of the list and both, especially the latter, have gone a long way to support Smollett publicly after this incident spun out of control. The network, which hasn’t officially renewed Empire for season six, has a lot to mull over in terms of bringing him back or letting him go. If they bring him back, viewers who believed he lied may turn their backs on the show entirely. When Empire returned from its hiatus after the incident, the show hit a series low of a 1.1 in the 18-49 demo and some argued that the decline was due to his presence since the episodes shown were shot long before Smollett became a media headline. The network cut Smollett from the last couple of episodes this season while his fate was determined.
On the other side, if they don’t bring him back, it’s possible that it could create some animosity amongst the actors, the creators, and the network. There may be a vibe that they should stand behind him no matter what the naysayers have been muttering and if they pull the easier move of cutting their losses, the primary cast may not be too happy to be involved with the show moving forward.
Empire usually gets its renewal news much earlier in the year and I suspect Fox is waiting until the last minute on this one because they need to sort their options. Some think the show should just go entirely while others believe Smollett shouldn’t be allowed to return. Whatever happens, the drama playing out in real life is far more interesting than any recent episode of Empire.
