The latest reports on the Jussie Smollett attack are getting more and more disturbing.
With two men of Nigerian descent — with connections to Empire — being arrested on Friday, there seems to be some amount of credence being lent to the theory Smollett staged the attack himself.
But why would he do such a thing?
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One reporter claimed on Thursday that a working theory was the Empire star was being written off of his hit show.
Frankly we’re not sure why a hate crime is supposed to have stopped that — is the idea that the writers would be afraid to look like they were piling on and reverse course?
In any case, the theory gets tanked by the show itself. We already saw a statement from 20th Century Fox, who said:
“The idea that Jussie Smollett has been, or would be, written off of EMPIRE is patently ridiculous. He remains a core player on this very successful series and we continue to stand behind him.”
The show’s writers agreed:
The writers of Empire have never planned or even discussed writing @JussieSmollett off of the show.
— Empire Writers (@EmpireWriters) February 15, 2019
And co-creator Danny Strong tweeted:
There is 0% truth that @JussieSmollett was going to be written off of Empire. This rumor is totally false. He is the third lead and one of the most beloved characters on the show. Writing him off the show has NEVER even been discussed.
— Danny Strong (@Dannystrong) February 15, 2019
How did this theory come about at all?
We do know there is going to be a big death on the show. A plotline this season involves flashforwards which show Lucious standing over a casket — but not who is inside. Showrunner Brett Mahoney told EW the death would be an “impactful” one.
Maybe TV fan speculation got conflated with actual reporting of the facts?
We’ll be closely following any updates from the Smollett case to keep you informed.
[Image via Empire/YouTube.]
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