The producers of the television series "Empire" have announced that they are cutting actor Jussie Smollett from the remaining two episodes of the current season. Smollett had made headlines for a racist and homophobic attack on him. Two men had insulted him, beaten him, doused him, and wrapped a gallows rope around his neck, Smollett told the Chicago police on January 29. Various celebrities and politicians then solidarized with him.
But as the week progressed, evidence grew that Smollett staged the attack and paid two men for the attack. The police in Chicago subsequently filed charges against him for misrepresentation. As a possible motive the police mentioned that Smollett was dissatisfied with his salary at "Empire" and wanted to increase the pressure on the producers to offer him more money. Smollett turned himself on Thursday to the police, who arrested him temporarily. He was released on bail a short time later.
Whether Smollett will ever again participate in "Empire" or another TV production is currently unclear. As for the removal from the remaining episodes, executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo, and Dennis Hammer all stated that they wanted to avert further disruption to filming.