‘Empire’ Producers Consider Jussie Smollett Suspension
Producers for “Empire” are considering whether to suspend star Jussie Smollett after he was charged Wednesday with a felony, Variety reported late Wednesday.
Smollett was charged Wednesday with with filing a false report and disorderly conduct, Chicago police said.
Smollett told police last month that he was attacked by two people who allegedly yelled racist and homophobic slurs at him, tied a rope around his neck and poured a chemical substance on him.
Chicago PD eventually questioned two brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo, who were in the vicinity of the event. The two men were arrested and questioned, but later released. Local Chicago media reported that the brothers told detectives that Smollett had paid them to stage the attack.
Surveillance video from inside a store shows the moment the Nigerian brothers involved in the Jussie Smollett attack, were buying masks and hats that Chicago police believe were used in alleged attack, authorities say.
Smollett’s attorneys pledged Wednesday to “mount an aggressive defense” in response to the charges.
A spokesperson for 20th Century Fox Television, which produces “Empire,” did not immediately return a request for comment to The Hill.
Earlier Wednesday, 20th Century Fox Television threw its support behind Smollett, telling ITK that he is “not being written out of the show.”
“Jussie Smollett continues to be a consummate professional on set,” 20th Century Fox Television said in a statement earlier Wednesday.
