It’s incredulous that “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett got away with just a slap on the wrist when most people would do serious prison time for sixteen felonies.
But instead, Kim Foxx of the Cook County State Attorney’s Office somewhat shockingly decided to drop all of his charges seemingly out of the blue and for no reason whatsoever. But the good news is that Smollett’s career will probably never recover.
And now we have proof of that because Jussie Smollett got a rude awakening about his career following the season 5 finale of his former show, “Empire.”
In late January 2019 Jussie Smollett became infamous when he allegedly staged an attack claiming that President Trump “MAGA” supporters did it in downtown Chicago, Illinois.
But things took a drastic turn when the Chicago Police Department discovered evidence that he paid two Nigerian brothers who worked on “Empire” at some point with a $3,500 check to beat him up.
The evidence against Smollett concocting this hoax was overwhelming and the Chicago Police Department was furious the State Attorney’s office decided not to prosecute.
Smollett did it for two reasons; to demonize Trump supporters as violent, racist and homophobic, and also the actor wanted a raise on “Empire” because he felt he was underpaid. Nevertheless, whatever his reasons were; it was simply inexcusable.
At first, Hollywood celebrities had his back, but once the new information on the case surfaced, everybody shunned the actor, including his former show “Empire.”
Following right after the season 5 finale, Brett Mahoney opened up about his decision to move forward without Smollett.
Mahoney explained to Variety, “Had the wedding episode hit in a different place, it would have been much, much, much more difficult. Luckily, it was almost a completion of the Jamal arc in [Episode] 16. There were elements I wanted to express in [Episodes] 17, 18, and I had to take those out, but it was lucky in the sense that it happened [then], so the wedding was a natural way to move on — to send him on his honeymoon.”
He’s of course talking about Smollett’s character if that wasn’t obvious. Writers constantly deal with this chaos, which leads to extensive rewrites and restructuring of the show because actors can be prima donnas.
Mahoney also explained, “Season 6 will have to be somewhat of a reset, and we’re going to find some exciting, bombastic way in. And we may discover that it takes more than just blood to be a Lyon, and we might see some other characters step up and step into the fold.”
They’ve officially moved on and that leaves the disgraced actor high and dry.
Twelve hours before the alleged Chicago hoax, Smollett delivered his first table reading – he had already been cast at this point – just 12-hours before the alleged staged attack.
A Broadway insider told Daily Mail, “Everything was set to go and the producers were planning to announce that Jussie and Zachary Quinto were starring in the play last month. Everyone was so supportive after the attack and then suddenly, everything shifted.”
An unnamed source also told the Daily Mail, “Here is a kid who is on a hit television show, has made a name for himself, and gets the chance of a lifetime. He would have come off the sixth season of Empire and kicked off the next leg of his career with a role on Broadway. And not just that, the lead role in one of the best plays of the century in his Broadway debut. Why on earth would someone throw that all away?”
It’s quite clear nobody wants Smollett because he’s simply toxic. He’ll ruin any chance of financial recoupment if you cast him.