Jussie Smollett Officially Booted From “Empire” For Good

(AllHipHop News) Jussie Smollett will not appear in the final season of the TV drama series “Empire.”

Michael Thorn, Fox entertainment president confirmed that Jussie will not be coming back to the show, ending speculation that his character Jamal will be making a surprise return.

Jussie Smollett played Jamal Lyon but the character did not appear in the last two episodes of season 5 after he was arrested.

Smollett had been charged with filing a false police report claiming he was a hate crime victim in what has since been dubbed hate-crime hoax.

The actor was accused of faking an attack in Chicago where men put around a noose around his neck.

Speaking to the TVline, Thorn insisted that the decision was arrived at after looking at ‘a number of factors.”

“As hard as a decision as that was, for us — and when I say us I mean the network, the studio, and the producers — it felt like it was in the best interests of the show and the cast,” Michael Thorn said.

However, it was finally decided that the hate-crime hoax scandal would be too damaging.

Thorn added that although the decision was hard, it was in the best interests of the cast and the show.

He hoped that Jussie’s scandal will not overshadow the show since it is “bigger than him.”