'Empire' Removes Jussie Smollett From Final Episodes of Season 5
Fox's "Empire" is removing actor Jussie Smollett from the final two episodes of its fifth season following his arrest on charges of falsifying a police report.
The decision comes a day after Smollett was arrested for what Chicago police are calling a "publicity stunt." They claim the actor orchestrated and planned an attack against himself because he was unhappy with his salary on "Empire."
Smollett posted $100,000 bail and has continued to assert his innocence.
Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Smollett's salary was about $125,000 per episode, putting him in the "upper echelons for an actor with his experience on a successful show."
"Empire" is currently filming the penultimate episode of Season 5. Smollett's character, Jamal Lyons, will not be a part of it or the finale of the Fox drama.
"The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us. Jussie has been an important member of our Empire family for the past five years and we care about him deeply," reads a statement from executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer.
"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."