According to this new statement, though, Empire and Fox have no plans to abandon their support of Jussie Smollett.
And, it’s pretty easy to understand why they’d be reluctant to cut him and his character from the show.
Smollett has played Jamal Lyon since the drama began in 2015, and through five seasons he’s been an important (and popular) part of the show.
There’s certainly enough on-screen drama to go around on Empire, and anyone familiar with night-time soaps will know that the genre is no stranger to writing even major characters out when the time is deemed right.