Jussie Smollett’s Empire character spoke about a ‘tough week’ as the show came back to screens for the first time since the actor was arrested for allegedly ‘staging a hate crime’.
Jamal Lyon, played by Smollett, appeared in the episode filmed months before his alleged attack, called My Fault Is Past, addressing a high school crowd.
He said: ‘I don’t know if you’ve been reading the blogs, but it’s been kind of a tough week’.
It has been a tough week for Jussie too as the 36-year-old attended a court hearing on Tuesday, one he didn’t need to be present for.
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. Jussie vehemently denies the charges and will defend the case.
My Fault Is Past also had parallels between Jamal’s gig addressing recent troubles, and Jussie’s real life concert in the wake of the supposed attack.
Jamal’s turbulent plot saw him discover that Jeff Kingsley, his family’ arch enemy, is in fact his half brother. He also split from fiance Kai as he wanted to stay loyal to the Lyon dynasty.
As his heartbreak and the family revelation weighed heavily on him, Jamal broke down alone in his apartment.
Jussie’s future on Empire is currently up in the air as the actor faces charges for disorderly conduct for filing a false report.
Jamal has already been written out of the final two episodes of the season, and bosses were said to be thinking about their next steps which could include either recasting or killing off the character.
But chief Brett Mahoney has insisted that it is ‘too early’ for any decisions to be made.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mahoney said: ‘It’s a matter of trusting the process and allowing the legal process to play out and see where it goes from there. ‘It’s too early to think about what we would have to do if we didn’t have Jussie… it’s too early to think about the show without him.’
He added that the last couple of weeks have been ‘an emotional rollercoaster’ on set.
Empire airs Wednesdays on FOX in the US
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