Actor Jussie Smollett’s scenes in Season 5 of “Empire” reportedly have been cut or reduced in the wake of growing doubt surrounding his allegation that he was the victim of a hate crime assault that occurred in Chicago in late January.
Sources close to production told TMZ, Smollett was set to have a large presence, including a musical number, in the final episodes of the current season, but a large number of those scenes have been cut and Smollett’s presence in the scenes that remain have been reduced through multiple revisions.
Police opened a hate crime investigation Jan. 29 after Smollett, who is black and gay, claimed he was assaulted by two white men who shouted racial slurs, poured bleach on him, and put a noose around his neck. Smollett also said the men told him this was “MAGA country,” a reference to President Trump’s “Make America great again” slogan.
Recent reports citing police sources say that Smollett may have paid two Nigerian-American brothers to disguise themselves and commit the attack for reasons unknown. The two brothers have released a statement through their lawyer claiming they are not “anti-Trump” and they have both been released by police without charges.
Chicago police say they want to conduct a second interview with Smollett. Although one of his lawyers said he declined to meet with authorities on Monday, they intend to maintain an open dialogue with police on his behalf.
20th Century Fox and Smollett’s legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
