Fresh reports have surfaced claiming Jussie Smollett’s Empire character could be recast or even killed off.
With Jussie facing 16 Class 4 Felony charges for disorderly conduct for filing a false report, his return to the FOX show is up in the air.
Jussie’s character Jamal was written out of the final two episodes of the season in the wake of his arrest for falsifying a police report. And now Empire bosses are said to thinking about their next steps.
Variety reports that ‘many options are on the table’, and it is ‘possible the character could be killed off or the role could be recast’.
Meanwhile Jamal’s part in the remainder of season five is ‘being downplayed’ despite Jamal having a major storyline.
On Tuesday the 36-year-old attended a court hearing he didn’t need to be present for, walking into the Cook County Courthouse with his team.
According to TMZ the hearing was for his attorney, Mark Geragos, to file the paperwork so he can represent the actor and his case in Illinois.
While each charge doesn’t potentially mean additional time in prison, each one does carry a maximum probation sentence of four years.
He’s now potentially facing a maximum of three years in prison, a $25,000 fine and 60 years probation.
Jussie has played Jamal Lyon, the middle child of Cookie and Lucious Lyon, on Empire since 2015.
Smollett has previously released his own statement of apology to his Empire co-stars, including Taraji P. Henson and Terence Howard, for ‘putting them through this’ but maintains his innocence.
Metro.co.uk has contacted FOX for comment
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