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Embattled actor/singer Jussie Smollett has now been written out of the final two episodes of ‘Empire’ season 5. The decision came quickly after returning to the set in the wake of facing charges for filing a false police report about an alleged homophobic attack last month.
In a statement to the Associated Press the show’s executive producers, Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo, and Dennis Hammer said:
While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out. 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.”
And that’s not all, we’re now hearing that while in Chicago Police custody, Smollett told investigators that he has an “untreated drug problem, according to TMZ. No word on whether or not this alleged problem will be used by his defense.
Making light of the serious situation, outspoken NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said, “If you’re going to break the law, don’t commit crimes with checks.” That, after police revealed that Jussie paid to men with a check to commit the fake attack.
(Source: TMZ, AP, DailyMail)
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