Jussie Smollett removed from Empire's final two episodes of the season to avoid "disruption on set"

The Hollywood Reporter

The producers of the Fox drama have released a statement announcing that Smollett will be kept off the show while his legal process plays out. "The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us," reads a statement from executive producers Lee Daniels, Danny Strong, Brett Mahoney, Brian Grazer, Sanaa Hamri, Francie Calfo and Dennis Hammer. "Jussie has been an important member of our Empire family for the past five years and we care about him deeply. While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out. We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of Jamal from the final two episodes of the season."