Arrests Made In Smollett Case; Reports Saying Attack Was Staged
Multiple reports out of Chicago say the arrest in Jussie Smollett’s attack case have revealed that the actor and the two men arrested, Nigerians who were extras on the set of Empire, helped Smollett stage the attack as he feared he was being written out of the show.
Chicago PD, via their spokesman, Anthony Gugliemi, has denied those reports, and an Empire spokesperson has weighed in as well, saying Smollett was not being written out of the show, according to AP.
Guglielmi says police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has contacted at least one Chicago news outlet to say investigators have no evidence to support their reporting. Guglielmi adds that Johnson said the “supposed CPD sources are uninformed and inaccurate.”
Twentieth Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment released a statement Thursday night calling the reports “patently ridiculous.” The statement says Smollett “remains a core player on this very successful series and we continue to stand behind him.”