Transcript for Jussie Smollett’s character to be removed from ‘Empire’
Thank you. Last night, a crush of photographers surrounding jussie smollett moments after he was charged with a felony. Authorities said they faked the racest and homophobic threat against him. Does he still plan to fight this? Evan fill grim on the story tonight. Reporter: Producers of the show “Empire” today announcing they are removing jussie smollett’s character from the last two episodes of this season “To avoid further disruption on set.” Saying — 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. While the allegations against the actor are disturbing, they say “They are placing their trust in the legal system as the process plays out.” Smollett, the center of a media frenzy moments after facing a judge for allegedly filing a false police report, the actor reported to the “Empire” set, telling the cast and crew of the show he is innocent. Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations? Reporter: After a scathing press conference from police, smollett punching back. His lawyers saying he “Feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.” All right, eat’s bring in Eva pilgrim tonight. Among the list of evidence the prosecutors laid out yesterday, all indications he plans to fight this and maintains his innocence? That is right. The charge against him carries a penalty ranging from probation to one to three years in prison. Thank you. Next, the major storm
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
