Jussie Smollett and director Lee Daniels. Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Empire creator Lee Daniels isn’t ruling out working with Jussie Smollett after his shocking involvement in a hate crime hoax — but the former collaborators still aren’t on great terms.
“He was a son to me. He also represented me and he represented the movement that I tried to start, which I didn’t know I was starting,” Daniels, 64, shared on the Monday, August 19, episode of iHeartRadio’s “The Breakfast Club” show. “I was so busy, worried about Cookie’s hat and the music that we were playing [on Empire.]”
Daniels hinted that his friendship with Smollett, 42, wasn’t in the best place after they previously appeared to fall out of touch.
“Look, it’s complicated. It’s so complicated, guys. It’s so complicated. Life is so complicated,” the producer said before weighing in on Smollett’s legal issues. “I still don’t know what to believe. Honestly, I don’t know what to believe.”
Jussie Smollett made headlines in 2019 after he claimed to the Chicago police that he was the victim of a homophobic and racist attack. Investigators searched for the perpetrators of what was initially described as a “possible hate crime” before ultimately accusing the actor of staging his own assault. A major development in the case came […]
Daniels continued: “People say he didn’t do it, he did do it. God bless him on his journey.”
Empire, which ran from 2015 to 2020, centered on a fictional hip hop music and entertainment company and the drama among the family members of the founder Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard). Smollett played Jamal, who was one of the sons of the central Lyon family. The actor was written out of the show’s final season after being accused of making a false police report.
Smollett originally alleged in 2019 that he was the victim of a homophobic and racist attack. He claimed two individuals poured an unknown chemical substance on him and wrapped a rope around his neck.
Jussie Smollett in ‘Empire.’ Fox
Us Weekly subsequently confirmed that Smollett — who previously alleged he was a victim of “trauma” — was charged with making a false police report. He was arrested and charged with 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct. After entering a not guilty plea, Smollett had all criminal charges dropped against him in March 2019.
“After reviewing all of the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case,” the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Smollett was indicted again in February 2020 on six counts for making false reports to police. The actor, who pleaded not guilty to the new charges, continued to deny orchestrating the fake attack or lying about what happened.
After a high-profile trial, Smollett was convicted in 2021 of five out of six felony counts of disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to 30 months of felony probation — 150 days of which were to be served in jail — and required to pay the city of Chicago $120,000 in restitution and a fine of $25,000. An appeals court later granted his release pending the appeal of his conviction, which Illinois’ high court agreed in March to hear.
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Three months later, Smollett debuted his new movie The Lost Holliday while on a panel. (He also took part in Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax in 2023.)
“It means a great deal to have the love and support of my queer Black community and equally to have the love and support of the Black community as a whole,” Smollett told The Hollywood Reporter in June. “Sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and let everybody think that you’re crazy, that you’re shady, that you’re a fraud, whatever they’re going to think. And then they’ll figure it out. They’ll figure it out because I can’t sit here forever trying to explain.”
