Empire actor Jussie Smollett is feeling the heat.
The producers of the TV show Empire said on Friday that Smollett’s character will be removed from the final two episodes of this season “to avoid further disruption on set” after Smollett was accused of faking a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in Chicago.
In a joint statement, the executive producers said they’ll trust the law to follow its course.
“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,” they said in a written statement.
Prosecutors charged Smollett late on Wednesday with felony disorderly conduct, the charge for filing a false police report.
He turned himself into police on Thursday and was jailed until an afternoon court appearance.
Prosecutors say Smollett gave detailed instructions to the accomplices who helped him stage 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.
The attack led to an outcry from industry insiders, who called out the assailants as homophobic racists.