Lee Daniels Tweets That Jussie Smollett Will Not Return To Empire

The TV show Empire will be returning for its Sixth and final season soon but one of its controversial stars won't be and the show's co-creator and executive producer took to Twitter to let it be known.

In response to a report from Variety that writers on the show were preparing to include Smollett in the upcoming production of season 6, Daniels tweeted that Smollett will NOT be returning to the show this season calling the report "not factual".

This is the first time publicly that anyone has come out to say directly that Smollett will no longer be on the show. Smollett was written out of the final episodes of the show’s fifth season following severe backlash from accusations the actor and musician faked a hate crime against himself earlier this year in Chicago.

When the sixth season renewal was announced in April, Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Television said that they had extended Smollett’s option for Season 6 but that there were no plans for him to return. Two weeks later, Fox announced that the sixth season would be the show’s last. - Variety

Variety updated their story to reflect Daniels statement.