The court drama surrounding Jussie Smollett has calmed now that fans and critics are awaiting the beginning of the actor's trial. The Empire star's career is said to be struggling at the moment, considering he's being accused of staging an attack, but his Empire family hasn't said much about Smollett's allegations. Lee Daniels, the co-creator and executive producer of Empire, broke his silence about what he calls "the incident," stating that the show itself is much bigger than the headlines that this event has garnered.
"Oh my God, these past couple of weeks have been a freakin' roller coaster," Daniels says in an Instagram video. "We have...me and my cast have experienced pain and anger and sadness and frustration. I really don't know how to deal with it, you know? It's happened...everything that's happened which you are seeing tonight, prior to the incident. And this is not what the show was made for. The show is made to bring America together...to talk about the atrocities that are happening right now in the streets."
Daniels also captioned the clip by writing, "I was so in my feelings last week that I forgot to post about @empirefox & @staronfox .... I guess y’all know why 👀👀... anyway I’m back and I’m finally ok!!!! 👊🏿🇺🇸👊🏿" There has been much speculation on what the future holds for Empire now that Smollett has been removed from the season's final episodes, as many wonder if the series will be renewed for another season.
