In the wake of his nationally publicized scandal, Jussie Smollet will be seeing his role on Empire dramatically reduced. Production sources tell TMZ that Jussie has had several scenes cut from an upcoming episode.
Jussie was supposed to have nine scenes in the second to last episode as well as a big musical, but that’s no longer the case. Production reportedly cut out five of his scenes, and completely took out his musical. Of the remaining four scenes he’s involved in, he’s no longer the focus anymore either and will be casted alongside an ensemble of fellow actors.
As a result of the reduced workload, Jussie will be spending way less time on set as well. Instead of working every day this week, which he normally would do, Jussie is now only working Friday and possibly Thursday, and he won't be rehearsing. Writers have spent the past 24 hours making edits to the script to make up for Jussie’s reduced role, but they're clearly separating themselves from the Chicago actor.
Jussie’s story took a turn for the worse this weekend as investigators believe Jussie staged his whole attack and paid two accomplices to jump him. Jussie is currently waiting to head to a Grand Jury for a verdict, but things aren’t looking good for him. We’ll keep you posted.