Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
'Empire' Producers Cut Smollett From Season's Last Episodes
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
February 22, 2019

Share

CHICAGO — Actor Jussie Smollett’s character on “Empire” will be removed from the final two episodes of this season in the wake of his arrest on charges that he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself last month in downtown Chicago, producers of the Fox TV show announced Friday.

“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.” — statement from “Empire” producers
The announcement came a day after Smollett turned himself in to police, appeared in court on a felony charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report, and left jail after posting bond.
“While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays,” ”Empire” executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer said 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.”
Smollett, who is black and gay, plays a gay character on the show that follows a black family as they navigate the ups and downs of the recording industry.
Police said Smollett planned the hoax because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career. Before the attack, he also sent a letter that threatened him to the Chicago studio where “Empire” is shot, police said.
As authorities laid out their case against Smollett, the narrative that emerged Thursday sounded like that of a filmmaker who wrote, cast, directed and starred in a short movie.

Smollett Earning More Than $100,000 per Episode

Prosecutors said Smollett gave detailed instructions to the accomplices who helped him stage the attack in January, including telling them specific slurs to yell, urging them to shout “MAGA country” and even pointing out a surveillance camera that he thought would record the beating.

“I believe Mr. Smollett wanted it on camera. But unfortunately that particular camera wasn’t pointed in that direction.” — Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson
“I believe Mr. Smollett wanted it on camera,” police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters at a Thursday morning news conference. “But unfortunately that particular camera wasn’t pointed in that direction.”
Smollett’s legal team issued a statement Thursday night, calling the actor a “man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence.” The statement called Johnson’s news conference “an organized law enforcement spectacle.”
“The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett,” the statement read.
Smollett is earning more than $100,000 per episode, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because salary details were involved. The studio declined to comment on the actor’s salary.
As is customary with a successful TV series, regular cast members on “Empire” received a boost in pay as part of contract extensions that followed the drama’s renewal for a second season, the person said.
Smollett is counted among the series regulars.

DON'T MISS

CA Has Seen Many New Towns, but This Big Project Is Stalled

DON'T MISS

Kern County Farmland Values Continue Downward Slide

DON'T MISS

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

DON'T MISS

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

DON'T MISS

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

DON'T MISS

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

DON'T MISS

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

DON'T MISS

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

DON'T MISS

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

UP NEXT

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

UP NEXT

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Will Meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Mending a Yearslong Rift

UP NEXT

Watch: Breaking Down Netanyahu’s Speech in Congress

UP NEXT

Recall of Boar’s Head Deli Meats Announced During Investigation of Listeria Outbreak

UP NEXT

Uvalde, Texas, School Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Charges of Failing to Protect Kids During Attack

UP NEXT

Spicy Dispute Over the Origins of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos Winds up in Court

UP NEXT

Harris Tells Netanyahu ‘It Is Time’ to Get Hostage Deal Done and End Gaza War

UP NEXT

Biden and Netanyahu Meet With a Show of Amiable Relations Despite Tensions

UP NEXT

Fresno County Sheriff Thanks Community for Their Help in Finding Relatives of Deceased Man

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

12 hours ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

12 hours ago

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

12 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

13 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

13 hours ago

‘Fed Up’ Dyer, Councilmembers Unveil Plan to Crack Down on Street Campers

13 hours ago

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance

14 hours ago

Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond

14 hours ago

Stay Cool, Fresno!

14 hours ago

Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer

15 hours ago

CA Has Seen Many New Towns, but This Big Project Is Stalled

When California emerged from its colonial beginnings nearly two centuries ago and began coalescing into a distinct society, its towns and vi...

4 mins ago

4 mins ago

CA Has Seen Many New Towns, but This Big Project Is Stalled

5 mins ago

Kern County Farmland Values Continue Downward Slide

11 hours ago

Crescent View West High Celebrates New Clovis Home

12 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog

12 hours ago

Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies

12 hours ago

Artists, Vendors Plan to Defy City’s ArtHop Crackdown

13 hours ago

Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’

13 hours ago

The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend