Jussie Smollett: Actor dropped from rest of Empire season after 'fake police report'

Empire executive producers say they want to avoid 'disruption' on set

Jussie Smollett has been dropped from the rest of the current season of Empire amid accusations that he staged a racist, homophobic attack on himself.

Twentieth Century Fox Television announced on Friday its decision to remove the actor from the final two episodes of the ongoing season.

The news comes after Smollett was charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report. Police claim the actor faked a racist and homophobic attack in Chicago because he was unhappy with his salary and wanted to promote his career.

Empire executive producers released a statement saying Smollett’s character, Jamal Lyon, was being removed from the final two episodes of the season to avoid “disruption” on set.

The series is filmed in Chicago, where Smollett initially said the alleged attack took place.

“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,” Empire executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer said in a written statement.

Empire, which premiered in 2015, is currently in its fifth season. Smollett has played Jamal, a talented R&B singer-songwriter, since the pilot.

Smollett turned himself in to police Thursday and was jailed until an afternoon court appearance.

Prosecutors say the actor gave detailed instructions to the accomplices who allegedly helped him orchestrate the attack in January, including telling them specific slurs to yell, urging them to shout “MAGA country” and even pointing out a surveillance camera that he thought would record the beating.

Police did not specify how the 36-year-old actor had hoped to increase his salary by allegedly staging a hoax.

If convicted, Smollett could face a prison sentence of one to three years.

Additional reporting by agencies.