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The final season of Empire will move forward minus Jussie Smollett, its showrunner Lee Daniels tweeted on Tuesday.
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Daniels took to Twitter to clear up a Variety report that alleged writers were prepping for the embattled actor’s Season six return.
“This is not factual. Jussie will NOT be returning to Empire,” Daniels wrote.
@Variety @JoeOtterson This is not factual. Jussie will NOT be returning to Empire. -LD
— lee daniels (@leedanielsent) June 4, 2019
Jussie Smollett had been indicted on 16 felony counts by a grand jury for falsely reporting a hate crime but the charges were later dropped.
Even though the singer and actor has always maintained his innocence, the City of Chicago still filed a lawsuit against him to recoup the cost of what they believe was an unnecessary police investigation.
Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television have since confirmed that while they extended the actor’s option for Season 6, there are currently no plans for him to take part.
His last appearance on the popular drama was in an episode where Smollett’s character, Jamal Lyon, married to his partner.
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