Terrence Howard on ‘Empire’ without Jussie Smollett: “The heart of our show is gone”
The sixth and final season of Empire is upon us and it looks like its star, Terrence Howard is missing Jussie Smollett.
“Jussie played my son, I mean the show kicked off because I took my four-year-old son and put him in the trash can because he had worn high heel shoes down the stairs,” Howard said during an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
“I was so proud of that young man who played my son because he still loved me at the end of it and all he wanted to do was get closer to me. And out of nowhere, he’s snatched away from us.”
‘Empire’ cast and crew reflect on Jussie Smollet’s absence on the final season of the show
The Lee Daniels series sent Smollett’s character, Jamal Lyon, to London for the season, but we all know his absence is due to the scandal that still surrounds the actor.
“He was the heart of our show, and now it’s like our show is on a heart and lung bypass machine because the heart is gone,” Howard continued. “But we’re still hoping that there’s gonna be a transplant and hoping it’ll come back together… We are all still trying to put the pieces together because my son is gone. My son. That was my little boy and he’s gone now and they don’t mention him as if it’s OK.”
PR firm says ‘Every iota’ of Jussie Smollett hate crime claim is true
Check out the clip:
Taraji P. Henson shared similar sentiments about her costar during an interview with PEOPLE.
“We miss Jussie,” she said. “He’s family to us. There’s no way we can throw five years of family away. I miss him.”
