Producers of the Fox drama Empire
on Friday announced that they have cut Jussie Smollett from the
remainder of the show's fifth season.
The news came a day after Smollett, who
is black and gay, was arrested in connection with filing a false
police report claiming he was the victim of a racist and homophobic
attack that allegedly took place last month in Chicago. Police
believe Smollett orchestrated his own attack because he was
“dissatisfied with his salary” on Empire.
“The events of the past few weeks
have been incredibly emotional for all of us,” producers said in a
statement. “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.”
After Smollett turned himself in to
police on Thursday, 20th Century Fox TV and Fox
Entertainment said that they were “evaluating the situation” and
considering their “options.”
Smollett declared his innocence to the
cast and crew of Empire on Thursday after he was released on
$100,000 bail. According to Deadline
Hollywood, the short reunion was “very stressful for
everyone.”
Many had questioned why Smollett had
refused to hand over his cellphone to police. Prosecutors in court
on Thursday presented texts between Smollett and the two brothers whom
Smollett allegedly hired to attack him that included plans on how to
carry out the attack.