By @MinneeTellsItAll
Hip-HopVibe.com Contributing Writer
Empire fans, great news! The Fox american hip-hop drama series is returning for its sixth season, here’s the twist – bad news is Jussie Smollett won’t be returning.
The announcement comes after the broadcasting network issued a statement stating the following:
“By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett’s option for season 6, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to ‘Empire.'”
It sounds as though during his open civil case with the City Of Chicago as they are suing the actor for the costs of the investigation, Fox wants to keep Jussie just in case he’s found innocent, but as of right now he is no longer apart of the season’s script.
TMZ previously reported that Jussie was having lunch meetings with “Empire” execs and for some time it looked like there was hope that he may come back, but now it seems Jussie needs to find other employment. Here’s the twist though, by extending Jussie’s option, it would seem they have to pay him something per the contract. Considering, he couldn’t really accept another gig just in case he could be called back to “Empire.” So, is Jussie still collecting them “Empire” coins for not working on the show?
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