"Empire": Jussie Smollett will not return for season 6, Per Lee Daniles



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Jamal Lyon's Empire The reign is officially over, casting member Jussie Smollett will not be back in the Fox drama, designer Lee Daniels said on Tuesday.

Daniels' statement came in response to a report from our sister site Variety this Empire The writers intended to bring back Smollett's character, Jamal, in the second half of the sixth (and final) season to come. In response to a tweet, Daniels retorted, "This is not a fact. Jussie will not come back to Empire. He even signed it with his initials "LD" to confirm that the statement came directly from Daniels.

Smollett, who plays the son of the musician Lucious, Jamal since Empire debuted in 2015, was written on the latest episodes of season 5 after a break that made the headlines. The actor claimed to have been beaten by two men wearing "MAGA" hats who had instigated racist and homophobic slurs, then accused of fabricating the bombing and making a false police report.

The charges were later dropped, but the scandal actually ended the Smollett race Empire. When the show was renewed for season 6, the network extended its contract but said there was "no project" to bring it back. The Smollett finale Empire The episode saw Jamal marry Kai, but did not permanently cancel the character.

Empire – without Smollett – returns for his sixth and final season on Tuesdays this fall on Fox.

Your turn, Empire Fans: Does the series lose something by losing Jamal? Sound off in the comments.

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