Fox Says Jussie Smollett Was Not Fired From Empire, While Chicago PD Dismisses Reports of 'Staged' Attack
The Chicago Police Department says that media reports of Jussie Smollett staging the racist and homophobic attack he allegedly sustained last month are unconfirmed, while Fox has refuted a claim that the Empire star had been fired, thus precipitating the alleged hoax.
ABC Chicago reporter Rob Elgas tweeted on Thursday that “multiple sources” believe that Smollett and his two assailants orchestrated the headline-making crime, allegedly because his character, Jamal, was being written out of Empire. Another Chicago reporter, CBS’ Charlie De Mar, said that two persons of interest whose home was raided by police previously appeared as extras on the Fox drama.
Chicago PD Chief Communications Officer Anthony Guglielmi, however, issued a statement on Thursday saying,
“Media reports about the Empire incident being a hoax are unconfirmed by case detectives. [Superintendent] Eddie Johnson has contacted @ABC7Chicago to state on the record that we have no evidence to support their reporting and their supposed CPD sources are uninformed and inaccurate.”
Supt. Johnson told ABC Chicago that Smollett “is considered a victim and the police investigation is ongoing.”
Empire producer 20th Century Fox Television, meanwhile, issued a statement undercutting the motive for any alleged hoax, saying,
“The idea that Jussie Smollett has been, or would be, written off of Empire is patently ridiculous. He remains a core player on this very successful series and we continue to stand behind him.”
Smollett sought treatment at a hospital in Chicago, where Empire is filmed, following his alleged late-January attack, in which two men supposedly approached the actor/singer and began hurling racist and homophobic slurs at him. According to the original account, the two men beat Smollett, poured a chemical substance (believed to be bleach) on him and tied a noose around his neck before fleeing the scene. Smollett also told police that the assailants “yelled pro-‘Make America Great Again’ [MAGA] comments” during the attack.
Smollett performed at an L.A. concert days after the attack, and appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America this Thursday morning to give his account of the incident, saying that he’s been “forever changed” by it.
Source
TV Line
Hollywood Actor Jussie Smollett Slammed For Allegedly Paying Nigerian Friends To Stage Homophobic Attack
American actor, Jussie Smollett’s role in Empire, an American series movie, has been slashed following ‘staged’ homophobic attack scandal.
Empire’ writers are reportedly busy making edits in the original script, which scheduled Smollett for nine scenes and a big musical number, according to TMZ.
The medium further reported that Jussie’s character, “Jamal, was originally scheduled to appear in nine scenes and a big musical number in the second to the last episode, but this would no longer be the case.
“The episodes which are currently being shot will see Jamal appearing in four scenes and his musical number has been taken out of the plot.
“It was also reported that Smollett will no longer be the main focus in the remaining four scenes as he would be flanked by a number of cast members.
“To this end, Jussie will be spending way less time on set without rehearsal,’’ it said.
It was also reported that Smollett, who plays the role of ‘Jamal Lyon’ in ‘Empire,’ will enjoy less screen time.
This move, TMZ reports, is in the wake of a growing sentiment that he staged the widely reported attack on him.
COLOSSUS GISTS recalls that Smollett was assaulted in Chicago by two men who hurled racial and homophobic words at him.
Smollett told police that he had just landed in town from New York and was attacked as he stepped out to eat at a Subway restaurant around 2 a.m on the East North Lower Water Street, in the upscale neighborhood of Streeterville.
However, there are reports that two Nigerian brothers, Abimbola ‘Abel’ and Olabinjo ‘Ola’ Osundairo, might have been paid off by Smollett to stage the attack.
The brothers were arrested on February 13, 2019, in connection with the case.
They were picked up at the airport in Chicago after they arrived from Nigeria where they had gone to spend some time with their family.
Interestingly, the brothers have been released with no charges as the police revealed there is now new evidence as one of the brothers was Smollett’s trainer for a music video.
Smollett has also vehemently denied paying the two brothers $3,500 to attack him.
His lawyers, Todd S. Pugh and Victor P. Henderson, disclosed to Entertainment Weekly that the star is now being victimised over the false allegations of him staging the incident.
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