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"Empire" Co-Creator Lee Daniels Denies Report Jussie Smollett May Return for Final Season

posted 5 years ago by Satan2016 (23275)
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https://www.imdb.com/news/ni62506654

“Empire” co-creator Lee Daniels denied a report Tuesday that Jussie Smollett is in talks to return for the final season of the Fox drama.

“This is not factual. Jussie will Not be returning to Empire,” Daniels tweeted in response to a Variety story, which first reported the news of Smollett’s potential return.

Following Variety’s initial story, multiple individuals familiar with the situation subsequently told TheWrap that Smollett was in early talks to make a return to “Empire.”

The show’s writers have already begun developing story ideas to potentially bring back Smollett’s character, Jamal, for the sixth and final season, though the situation was described by one individual as “very premature.”

[–] Satan2016 (23275) 5 years ago

Jussie Smollett scandal left 'Empire' co-creator Lee Daniels feeling 'beyond embarrassed'
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/06/12/jussie-smollett-scandal-empire-lee-daniels-beyond-embarrassed/1429180001/

"Empire" co-creator Lee Daniels has walked back his publicly expressed belief that former "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett was anything other than a victim in his January hate-crime scandal. But he's not ready to believe that Smollett is totally guilty, either.

"I'm beyond embarrassed," Daniels told Vulture, referencing the late February charges in which prosecutors accused Smollett of planning the attack. For his friend to make himself look like the victim of an anti-black and homophobic crime seemed completely out of character to the writer/director, who is also black and gay.

It would still be a huge betrayal "if it turned out that he did it, was guilty and all of it's accurate," he said. But "of course, there's still some doubt."

Daniels added, "We weren’t there. I can’t judge him. That’s only for the (expletive) lady or man with that black robe and God."

He also told Vulture that he's had to distance himself from Smollett and the entire situation for his own emotional health, explaining, "I had to detach myself and stop calling him, because it was taking away the time I have for my kids, the time I have for my partner. It was affecting my spirit and other shows, everything."