Fox is cutting Jussie Smollett’s character from its popular hip-hop drama „Empire“ after the actor was arrested and accused of staging a hoax hate crime attack on himself, show officials said on Friday.
(Reuters) – Fox is cutting Jussie Smollett’s character from its popular hip-hop drama “Empire” after the actor was arrested and accused of staging a hoax hate crime attack on himself, show officials said on Friday.
The move came a day after the 36-year-old was charged with lying to Chicago police about the allegedly staged incident, in which he said two masked men beat him and slung a noose around his neck while yelling racist and homophobic abuse.
Smollett’s character, Jamal Lyon, will be removed from the final two episodes of the current season of Empire, according to 20th Century Fox Television, which said it wanted to avoid “further disruption” on the set of the show.
Smollett faces up to three years in prison if convicted in the case, which has become fodder for the culture wars that have roiled the United States since Donald Trump’s 2016 election.
“The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us,” Empire’s co-creators and producers said in a statement. “While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out.
