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Taraji P Henson says Empire cast are staying "strong" in light of Jussie Smollett scandal

Posted by Liam, 19 Mar

Photo credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com

The Jussie Smollett scandal that has rocked the internet this year can’t have been easy for the rest of the cast and crew of Empire. But one of its biggest stars, Taraji P Henson, has insisted that everyone is doing the best they can to deal with the drama, and they are all staying strong for each other…

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“You have to stay strong, stay positive, full of hope,” the 48-year-old actress told Extra, adding that her Empire co-stars are all staying “strong” under the circumstances.

Last week, Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty to orchestrating the alleged homophobic and racist attack on himself, and therefore also filing a false police report.

Despite maintaining his innocence, his character has been removed from the final two episodes of Season 5 to “avoid further disruption on set,” according to Fox’s executive producers.

It’s currently unclear whether he will return to the show for the new season, but showrunner Brett Mahoney has hinted that Empire is perfectly capable of continuing without him…

“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.”

Sounds like a not so subtle way of telling us that he could be leaving…

Taraji P Henson, on the other hand, is taking a voluntary – not to mention well-deserved – break this year…

"I’m taking the summer off," she also told Extra in the interview.

"I'm just going to take this summer and be normal, take a vacation — a couple, a few — I have a girlfriends' trip coming up, then me and my fiancé have to do something."

Sounds like heaven! We hope she won’t stay away for too long though…