Jussie Smollett’sEmpirecostars are eagerly anticipating his possible return to set now that he’sbeen cleared of chargesstemming from an alleged hate attack.
“I’m happy his charges are being dropped and look forward to seeing Jussie on set and his character Jamal back onEmpire,” costar AzMarie Livingston tells PEOPLE in a statement.
Livingston, 32, plays Chicken on the FOX drama. Days after Smollett’s arrest Feb. 20 that his character Jamal Lyons would beremoved from the final two episodesof season 5 in order to “avoid further disruption on set.”
“The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us,” said Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer in a statement. “Jussie has been an important member of ourEMPIREfamily 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. 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.”
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Livingston’s enthusiasmin light of the latest updatefollows that ofEmpirewriter JaNeika N. James, who tweeted, “WE LOVE YOU JUSSIE!!! Thank you for ALWAYS standing in your truth #truthwillalwaysprevail.”
TheEmpirewriters also shared their feelings on Twitter, writing, “See y’all Wednesday,” with a winking emoji, referencing the day of the week the show airs.
“Jussie Smollett has always maintained his innocence and we are gratified that all charges against him have been dismissed,” 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment said in a statement.
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Two menwho were acquaintances of Smollettlater were arrested and questioned but released after police said the men indicated they worked with Smollett to stage the incident.
The star was arrested Feb. 20 and charged with 16 counts of disorderly conduct related to falsifying the police report.
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Police said in a press conference following the arrest that they believed Smollettpaid $3,500to stage a “bogus” attack on himself because he was unhappy with hisEmpiresalary, though a source denied any dissatisfaction with money to PEOPLE.
Smollett, who has maintained his innocence,spoke out Tuesdayshortly after the charges were dropped, insisting he has been telling the truth about the attack since the very beginning.
“I’ve been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one,” he told reporters at the Cook County courthouse in Chicago. “I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of doing what I was accused of.”
The surprise announcement out of Chicago comes one week afterEmpirecreator Lee Danielsspoke to the “pain and anger”he and the rest of the cast felt over the scandal.
“Oh my God, these past couple of weeks have been a freakin’ roller coaster,” he said in an Instagram post. “Me and my cast have experienced pain and anger and sadness and frustration and really don’t know how to deal with it. You know?”
source: people.com
