Just a day after Jussie Smollett found himself formally in legal jeopardy, arrested in Chicago for filing a false police report, the Empire actor's job appears to be in jeopardy as well. Executive producers of the Fox program announced Friday that his character, Jamal, would not appear in the final episodes of the current season. "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. While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out," said a statement signed by Lee Daniels, Danny Strong and five other producers. "We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show," they continued, "and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of 'Jamal' from the final two episodes of the season." Read more
