Taraji P. Hensongave a brief update onJussie Smollettfor the first time since thecriminal charges against him were droppedlast month.
Appearing onThe ViewThursday, the actress said she had spoken to herEmpirecostar and that he is “doing well.”
“I talk to Jussie all the time. And he’s doing well,” she said. “We’re all doing well. The show is doing well. We’re on hiatus right now. The writers are trying to figure out what the next season is going to look like, what our storyline is going to be. They’re trying to drum up some really good juicy stuff for you guys.”
Asked if Smollett was “definitely going to be on the show,” Henson said yes.
“Yes. I haven’t heard anything else,” she said. “I haven’t heard anything.”
Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic
Smollett, 36, had beenindicted with 16 counts of disorderly conductforallegedly filing a false reportclaimingtwo men attacked himin an apparent hate crime in January.
The actor, who faced intense scrutiny and backlash, had pleaded not guilty to allegations that he lied to police when he said he was attacked in what authorities later claimed was a staged incident draw attention to himself.
At the end of March, all charges against Smollett were suddenlydropped, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office confirmed to PEOPLE in a statement: “After reviewing all the facts and circumstances of the case, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his bond to the City of Chicago, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to this case.”
Before the charges were dropped, Smollett’s character onEmpirewasremoved from the final two episodesof season 5 to “avoid further disruption on set,” the Fox show’s executive producers previously said in a statement.
In an interview withEntertainment Weekly, showrunner Brett Mahoney admitted the scandal was an“emotional roller coaster”for the cast and crew.
“You have someone in your family who’s going through this, while at the same time, we’re shooting the final episodes of the season, which are also just heightened emotionally,” he said. “So it was a lot to deal with and a lot to go through, but we’re really just focused on finishing strong.”
Mahoney also said they haven’t made any decisions regarding Smollett’s future on the show as they awaited the legal process to play out.
“It’s too early to think about what we would have to do if we didn’t have Jussie,” he said. “We have such a strong ensemble and we have so many stories to tell for all of these fascinating characters that it’s bigger than one character, but it’s too early to think about the show without him.”
Empireairs Wednesdays (8 p.m. ET) on Fox.
source: people.com
