The executive producers of "Empire" have confirmed that Jussie Smollett's character will be written out of the final episodes of the show's upcoming season.
The announcement comes a day after Smollett, who plays Jamal Lyon on the Fox series, was arrested and released on USD 10,000 bond on suspicion of filing a false report about an incident on January 29 where the actor had claimed that he was attacked by two men screaming racial and homophobic slurs while leaving a restaurant in Chicago.
"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," read a statement from Empire executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer.
"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," the statement further read.
A spokesperson would not comment on whether already-shot scenes will be cut, altered or reduced.
It was later reported that the actor may have been misleading the police, who believed that he may have paid two Nigerian brothers, Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, to rehearse and stage the attack.
The brothers were arrested and later released without charge and are now believed to be assisting police in the investigation.
Officials also believe that Smollett is involved in crafting a threatening ransom note-style letter that was sent to the "Empire" production offices a week before the alleged attack.
The crime carries a felony charge, and if Smollett is found guilty he could face up to three years in prison and up to USD 25,000 in fine.
The actor had earlier denied the Chicago Police claims that he paid two Nigerian brothers to attack him.
"Empire" is currently in its fifth season.
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