Although Jussie Smollett returned to the Empire set after posting $100,000 bail in his disorderly conduct case, the producers have made the decision to cut Smollett from the final two episodes of the season.
A collective statement from producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo, and Dennis Hammer reads as follows:
“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.”
Empire producers and writers had already cut or trimmed a lot of Smollett’s scenes this week as the case surrounding him escalated. Fox through their support around the actor, calling him a “consummate professional” but that was a day before he was indicted on charges for allegedly filing a false police report. This was then closely followed by him turning himself in to be arrested on said charges and then the network expressed more tepid support but saying they were “accessing the situation.” In my opinion, cutting him from the final two episodes of the season just gives them time to see how this plays out without just firing him outright.
In case you missed it after Smollett turned himself in, a press conference followed which revealed damning details about the actor and his alleged “hate crime” attack. It was suggested that the January 29 “attack” was orchestrated by the actor because he was dissatisfied with his salary on Empire and used to garner a higher profile. What was initially described as the most horrific kind of hate crime, turned the victim into the suspect and officially turned this tale into something that could’ve been seen on his hit show.
After a couple of hours in the Cook County detention center, Smollett went straight to the nearby set of the series. That reunion of sorts was tense and “very stressful for everyone, according to numerous sources as the actor was met with various creatives and cast members of the Taraji P Henson and Terrence Howard led Empire.
