Although never mentioned by name, it’s clear that Empire creator, Lee Daniels, is still processing “the freaking roller coaster” Jussie Smollett has put him through.
Lee Daniels took to Instagram on Wednesday night to speak out about the Jussie Smollett scandal. The caption to the video states that Lee was “in [his] feelings last week,” alluding to the further developments surrounding the case. In the video, after brushing his teeth, Lee takes a moment to address the fact that Jussie is still appearing in new episodes of the hit show because they were filmed prior to “the incident.” In the wake of the allegations, the show has released a statement confirming the fact that Jussie has been written out of the last two episodes of the season. Lee’s pain and frustration stems from something deeper than character arcs as he told his followers “this is not what the show was made for. This show was made to bring America together to talk about the atrocities that are happening right now in the streets.”
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On January 29th, Jussie made claims that he was the victim to a racially-motivated attack. After an extensive investigation, Chicago police believe that the alleged attack was fake. Since being charged, Jussie has pleaded not guilty on 16 felony counts for allegedly making false statements to police. Jussie also denies claims that he faked the ordeal due to his dissatisfaction with his salary. No word on whether Jussie will return to Empire next season as of yet.
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