Jussie Smollett Maintains Innocence While Apologizing To "Empire" Crew & Cast

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Jussie Smollett speaks at the Children's Defense Fund California's 28th Annual Beat The Odds Awards at Skirball Cultural Center on December 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
Despite the charges, Smollett is maintaining his innocence.

Jussie Smollett is facing a lot of criticism right now. The singer claimed he was attacked by Trump supporters who poured bleach on him and tied a noose around his neck while shouting racist and homophobic epithets. However, the story took a turn for the worst earlier this week when it was alleged that he staged his own attack. Police said he pulled this move since he was unhappy with his current salary. However, as Smollett posted bond and headed to the FOX studios, he gave the cast and crew of Empire an apology for putting them through this.

According to TMZ, Empire sources claimed that they waited for 30 minutes for Jussie to show up on set to begin filming the scheduled scene. However, when he showed up, he was with his family and in a deeply emotional state. He addressed the elephant in the room while he was on set.

"I’m sorry I’ve put you all though this and not answered any calls. I wanted to say I’m sorry and you know me i would never do this to any of you, you are my family. I swear to god i did not do this," he reportedly said.

He ended up leaving the set afterward. However, he was crying a lot after his speech and producers gave him time before coming back on set to film his scene. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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