Lee Daniels says Jussie Smollett will not return to Empire, but some insiders are less sure

Fox seems to have quietly made a decision on how it feels about Smollett, though, with Variety reporting that “multiple production sources” says that Empire’s writers have begun developing ideas for how to bring Smollett’s character back in the second half of the sixth (and final) season. Variety says that the “primarily black cast members” believe Smollett is innocent of faking the attack, while the “mostly white below-the-line crew” think he’s guilty, resulting in some “tensions” on set. The Variety report makes it sound like those tensions were Fox’s main concern in the first place, and the sources suggest that it’s hoping everything will have calmed down between now and whenever the final episodes of the season are filmed.

After Variety published its report, though, Empire co-creator Lee Daniels got on Twitter to deny the story, saying, “Jussie will NOT be returning to Empire.” That seems pretty definitive, but the contract was done that way for a reason—and that reason being “plans change.”

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