Empire creator Lee Daniels confirms Jussie Smollett will not return for the show's sixth and final season following his arrest for the 'staged hate crime attack'
- Jussie Smollett will not be returning for the sixth and final season of Empire
- Empire creator Lee Daniels confirmed the news in response to reports that writers expected the embattled actor would appear at some point in Season Six
- Fox announced that its hit drama would end after Season Six and that there were still no plans to bring back Smollett’s character, Jamal Lyon
- Smollett was charged in February with staging a fake hate crime in Chicago
- But the charges were dropped by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office
Jussie Smollett will not be returning for the sixth and final season of Empire, the show's co-creator Lee Daniels confirmed on Tuesday.
Daniels broke the news in response to a reports in Variety claiming that writers were forming ideas with the view that Smollett would appear in the back half of the 18-episode season.
Along a link to the original report, Daniels tweeted: 'This is not factual. Jussie will NOT be returning to Empire.'
Smollett was charged with 16 felony counts alleging he lied to police when reporting he'd been the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack in January.
Jussie Smollett will not be returning for the sixth and final season of Empire, the show's co-creator Lee Daniels confirmed on Tuesday
Daniels took to twitter in response to a reports in Variety claiming that writers were forming ideas with the expectation that Smollett would appear at some point in the 18-episode season
Prosecutors eventually dropped charges on March 26 without Smollett admitting guilt. Then Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and police Superintendent Eddie Johnson expressed outrage over the prosecutors' decision.
Back in May, Fox announced that its hit drama would end after Season Six and that there were still no plans to bring back Smollett’s character.
One month prior, Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox TV issued a statement, explaining: 'By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett’s option for season six, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to Empire.'
A spokesperson for Smollett told Fox at the time: 'We've been told that Jussie will not be on Empire in the beginning of the season but he appreciates they have extended his contract to keep Jamal’s future open.
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'Most importantly he is grateful to Fox and Empire leadership, cast, crew and fans for their unwavering support.'
The cast of the Fox series had released an open letter last April praising Smollett and asking that he be allowed to return for season six of the show.
'Together, as a united front, we stand with Jussie Smollett and ask that our co-star, brother and friend be brought back for our sixth season of Empire,' read the letter, which was signed by Taraji P Henson, Terrence Howard, Bryshere Y Grey, Trai Byers, Gabourey Sidibe and Nicole Ari Parker.
The letter went on to praise Smollett's charity work and defend him against recent allegations, with the actors writing: 'He is kind. He is compassionate. He is honest and above all he is filled with integrity.
Smollett was charged with 16 felony counts alleging he lied to police when reporting he'd been the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack in January
Back in May, Fox announced that its hit drama would end after Season Six and that there were still no plans to bring back Smollett’s character Jamal Lyon, (pictured)
'He is also innocent and no longer subject to legal uncertainty with the criminal charges against him having been dropped.'
The open letter in support of Smollett was released on the same day he made his final appearance on season five of the show which aired on April 24.
On the episode, Smollett's character said 'I do' in what was be the first gay wedding featuring two black characters on network TV.
The 36-year-old entertainer portrayed gay musician Jamal Lyon on Empire since 2015.
Daniels was among those who the letter was sent to, with the other recipients including: Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier, ABC Entertainment chair Dana Walden, Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn, and the show's producers.
Lee Daniels spoke about the Jussie Smollett scandal on Good Day New York and said he is concerned for the actor's mental health if he is lying about attack on April 24 (Daniels and Smollett above in 2017)
The cast of the Fox series released an open letter last April praising Smollett and asking that he be allowed to return for season six of the show. Pictured left to right are Terrence Howard, Jussie Smollett, Bryshere Gray, Trai Byers and Taraji P. Henson on Season Four of Empire
Back in April, Lee Daniels appeared on the Fox morning show Good Day New York and claimed Smollett faced an uncertain future on Empire due to the city of Chicago filing a lawsuit against him for damages associated with the investigation.
'It's so painful that our souls are cracked,' said Daniels.
'It's just too painful to talk about.' Then, after a bit of poking and prodding, he revealed that Smollett's future on Empire is very much up in the air.
Daniels was asked if the city of Chicago lawsuit filed against Smollett along with the increased insurance premium now attached to the star was causing any difficulty in bringing back the actor for the show's sixth season.
'It's causing a dilemma,' admitted Daniels. 'And we are in discussions about that right now.'
A handout provided by the Chicago Police Department, Jussie Smollett poses for a booking photo after turning himself into the Chicago Police Department on February 21, 2019
Brothers Abel (left) and Ola (right) Osundairo are shown in their mugshots, taken on February 13, when they arrived back in the US from Nigeria and told police Smollett had paid them to beat him up
Lee's confirmation on Jussie's future on the show comes just days after newly released documents revealed that prosecutors told Chicago police detectives that a possible deal with the Empire actor was in the works a month before charges against him were dropped.
The 470 pages of files related to his case, which were released on Thursday, show detectives investigating Smollett's claim he was the victim of a hate crime were told by Cook County prosecutors a deal with Smollett could include a $10,000 fine and community service.
Buried in the thousands of pages of evidence released by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office were surveillance photos of the Empire actor in his Mercedes, allegedly driving to do a 'run through' of the attack police say he staged.
The photos are of Smollett's black Mercedes and were taken on January 27 in Chicago at around 12.30pm.
Smollett is shown in his black Mercedes on January 27, allegedly driving to pick up the brothers he is accused of paying to attack him in a staged, racist and homophobic attack
Newly-released case files issued last week show a rope purchased by the brothers to place around Smollett's neck
The attack was meant to happen the next day, on January 28th, but was set back because Smollett's flight was delayed from New York City.
The brothers say he was angry that he did not receive more attention when he got a racist and homophobic letter from Empire.
He was on his way, according to police, to pick up brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo to do a 'run through' of the attack they allegedly staged together on January 29.
Smollett maintains it was a legitimate attack and that he was the victim.
The photos of his car were released on Friday among thousands of other documents obtained by DailyMail.com via an FOIA request and under the decision of a judge to unseal all the police and prosecutor documents attached to the case.
There are also photographs of the white rope the brothers placed around Smollett's neck and the bottle of hot sauce containing bleach which they then discarded.
A judge earlier this month decided to reverse the seal because, as they put it, Smollett was no longer entitled to privacy.
Last week, the Chicago Police Department released 400 of the thousands of pages it has on file.
Police are still redacting videos and photographs which they will release this week.
