The character portrayed by actor Jussie Smollett, who Chicago police say staged an attack on himself, is being written out of the final two episodes of the current season of “Empire.”
“While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out,” the executive producers of “Empire,” Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo, and Dennis Hammer, told the Associated Press in a written statement. “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” is filmed in Chicago and is still in production for the fifth season.
On Thursday, the Chicago Police Department said in a press conference that there was significant evidence to suggest that Smollett, 36, staged an attack on himself, with dissatisfaction over with his salary a potential motive.
Smollett, who is both black and gay, filed a police report last month that claimed two white men beat him, tied a rope around his neck, poured bleach on him, and yelled racist and homophobic slurs.
Police say that he paid two brothers, one of which worked on “Empire” with him, to stage the attack after a threatening letter he sent to himself did not gain enough attention.
Smollett turned himself in Thursday and was charged with felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report.
The “Empire” producers’ move to oust Smollett from at least the end of this season represents a turnaround from 24 hours prior. On Wednesday, Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television said in a joint statement the network stood by Smollett, and his character would not be being written out of the show.
“Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set and as we have previously stated, he is not being written out of the show,” the Wednesday statement read.
