Empire in the Media: Read It In Billboard

[Was-MArsenault]

http://www.justjared.com/2019/02/20/jussie-smollett-now-classified-as-a-suspect-in-criminal-investigation/

I can just tell that he will be gone from the show.

[Dee]

Fox has reiterated their support, so it's doubtful he's going anywhere anytime soon.

[mtlchick]

I sort of wish Taraji will do a call back to the pilot and whip Jussie with a broom for this.  ( I’m only sort of kidding.)

apparently the FBI will look into mail fraud charges for the letter.   You don’t have conversations with Mark Geragos if you don’t think you’re not in trouble.  You talk to him because you’re in way too deep. 

[SimoneS]

The news about Jussie just keeps getting worse. At least, he can afford good lawyers. 

[WendyCR72]

23 minutes ago, Dee said:

Fox has reiterated their support, so it's doubtful he's going anywhere anytime soon.

Seemed more like a canned response to me.

[thebigboot]

22 minutes ago, Dee said:

Fox has reiterated their support, so it's doubtful he's going anywhere anytime soon.

Depending on how this investigation goes I’d have to disagree with you on this. He’s lied to the police in the past, and he’s consistently changed his story every time he’s spoken about this situation. Unless by some miraculous event this attack actually happened as he claimed, Fox would be insane to keep him around.

[Dee]

If the network felt he was guilty, they could've very easily remained quiet and let Jussie go at the end of the season.

The way this is being handled, at least thus far, is very similar to how Shonda & ABC used to react when her/their actors used to find themselves in potential trouble.

[thebigboot]

33 minutes ago, Dee said:

If the network felt he was guilty, they could've very easily remained quiet and let Jussie go at the end of the season.

The way this is being handled, at least thus far, is very similar to how Shonda & ABC used to react when her/their actors used to find themselves in potential trouble.

Except we all remember what happened with Rosanne which kind of pales in comparison to what’s going on right now. Including his “if my attackers were” comment. 

[Margohill]

57 minutes ago, Dee said:

If the network felt he was guilty, they could've very easily remained quiet and let Jussie go at the end of the season.

The way this is being handled, at least thus far, is very similar to how Shonda & ABC used to react when her/their actors used to find themselves in potential trouble.

Oh! please I used to watch Scandal and the actor who had legal issues had to do with domestic violence and nothing close this in terms of gravity of the crime. If proven true, that's a serious offense and he could be charged.

It would be quite interesting to see how the producers will be able to put up with that kind of negativity that will follow him and ultimately impact the show negatively if he is allowed to stay on.

I'm just observing🤔🤔🤔🤔

[WendyCR72]

Jussie Smollett officially indicted for disorderly conduct, a felony.

[thebigboot]

3 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Jussie Smollett officially indicted for disorderly conduct, a felony.

Beat me to it!

[Margohill]

1 minute ago, WendyCR72 said:

Jussie Smollett officially indicted for disorderly conduct, a felony.

Well, I had barely submitted my recent post and this came on. What a shame, a huge disappointment with JS. He should be seriously reprimanded for this selfish act. Terrible. I feel bad for everyone on the set of Empire. So sad.

[SimoneS]

What a nightmare! 

[Dee]

Fox could've very easily written him out before the end of the season.

They're hedging their bets which is totally in their rights.

Actors on other shows have done much worse & remained on their shows so it's not as if bad behavior is unprecedented.

[thebigboot]

17 minutes ago, Dee said:

Fox could've very easily written him out before the end of the season.

They're hedging their bets which is totally in their rights.

Actors on other shows have done much worse & remained on their shows so it's not as if bad behavior is unprecedented.

Lied about being the victim of a hate crime having already lied to the police in the past (Hello 2006), went on the air to continue his BS which included choice comments on if his pseudo attackers were Muslim or Mexican people would believe him, and chose a politically divisive subject to blame his lies on. This is pretty bad, and if he ends up being connected to those letters that’s easily going into terrorism territory. I know you’ve been defending him like crazy, but I do not understand how this doesn’t seem bad to you.

[WendyCR72]

Fox may have no choice but to write him off. Kind of hard to act on a show if you'll be in court, defending charges. (And I know the show is almost basically in the can for the season, but I'm talking later. Especially since court proceedings often take time.)

Add in that while the show's PTB may still support Jussie, the buck stops at the network, and Fox may not be so inclined.

[mtlchick]

33 minutes ago, Dee said:

Actors on other shows have done much worse & remained on their shows so it's not as if bad behavior is unprecedented.

This is only the indictment for the filing a false police report.  Imagine if he gets nailed for mail fraud, which is a federal crime.   This is more than bad behaviour.   This is someone who alleged a hate crime happened to him and if this turns out to be a lie, this isn't something anyone can recover from quickly.  He wasted police time and resources in a city that desperately needs policing and as a "role model" of sorts, this leaves an ugly mark.  

The season is almost done filming.  I think Fox and the production will play this out as best they can and then end his contract.  He's becoming a liability and they can't take the risk.  

The slight upside to this is the ratings are going to spike up due to morbid curiosity.

[Dee]

It's not just the network who is strongly supporting him, but also the actors, writers and the showrunner.

So it's not as if many of those involved consider him a potential liability, at least thus far.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Dee

[WendyCR72]

33 minutes ago, Dee said:

It's not just the network who is strongly supporting him, but also the actors, writers and the showrunner.

So it's not as if many of those involved consider him a potential liability, at least thus far.

True. But the legal system will run its course and, by the end, he may have other concerns besides the show. Either way, his career is on very shaky ground, support or not.

[Growsonwalls]

As someone who works with teens and has seen the very real bullying and harassment that happens to LGBT teens I am completely disgusted by Jussie Smollett's actions, especially since I have ALREADY seen on social media certain people using this hoax to perpetuate their own prejudices and homophobia. If Empire doesn't fire him ... I think they certainly should. What he did was awful and shitty. And illegal. But mostly awful and shitty. 

[Margohill]

30 minutes ago, Dee said:

It's not just the network who is strongly supporting him, but also the actors, writers and the showrunner.

So it's not as if many of those involved consider him a potential liability, at least thus far.

Off course the actors, writers  and showrunner will "appear" to support him to give an impression that all is well but we all know deep down they must be disappointed and angry. It's what every family, friend or close relations do to give the public a good impression when a scandal breaks that threatens their reputation.

He is technically a liability based on the scandal this has brought on him and consequently the show. One can never convince me that any showrunner in the world will be okay with such a scandal involving one of their major stars, no way. But they all have to put on fake smiles to the public and try to carry on as usual but it must hurt.

[Dee]

Quote

True. But the legal system will run its course and, by the end, he may have other concerns besides the show. Either way, his career is on very shaky ground, support or not.

I'm not disputing that.

All I'm saying is that Jussie has a lot of important people (many of whom are way closer to the situation than most everyone else) still advocating for him, even now, that could very easily remain silent.

That definitely speaks volumes.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Dee

[SimoneS]

I am expecting a statement from FOX to the effect, "we support and believe Jussie. He is taking time off to focus on resolving this situation."

I also expect that we will get an episode in which we are told that Jamal went to London to work on his relationship with Kai and we never see Jussie again.

Edited February 21, 2019 by SimoneS

[Apprentice79]

17 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

True. But the legal system will run its course and, by the end, he may have other concerns besides the show. Either way, his career is on very shaky ground, support or not.

I think his career is done. He cannot come back from this.  I don't think that he will be back next season of Empire. 

Edited February 21, 2019 by Apprentice79

[mtlchick]

9 minutes ago, Dee said:

All I'm saying is that Jussie has a lot of important people (many of whom are way closer to the situation than most everyone else) still advocating for him, even now, that could very easily remain silent.

They were advocating for him right up until he was declared a suspect.  Since then, silence.  Now Deadline is reporting that he will be suspended from the show and that the police are working with his lawyers to arrange for his arrest.   I can see Fox putting out a statement within the next 24 hours clarifying their position if they are willing to believe the charges not going to be easily dismissed.  

[Dee]

30 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

They were advocating for him right up until he was declared a suspect.  Since then, silence. 

That literally just happened yesterday/today.

The network, actors, showrunner and writers have been advocating for Jussie throughout all phases of this debacle. They aren't all going to cease supporting him simultaneously.

[chocolatine]

I'm so disappointed in Jussie, and I say this as someone who believed him initially and was hoping up until the indictment that the rumors of him staging the attack weren't true. This is going to make it so much harder for actual victims of hate crimes to get justice. The whole thing makes me sick to my stomach, and I never want to watch Jussie in anything ever again.

[RealReality10]

5 hours ago, Margohill said:

Well, I had barely submitted my recent post and this came on. What a shame, a huge disappointment with JS. He should be seriously reprimanded for this selfish act. Terrible. I feel bad for everyone on the set of Empire. So sad.

I cannot, for the life of me, understand why he would do this.  Even if he was being written off the show he is hugely popular and could have gotten another acting job or movie roles.  Like why in the world would he do this?  What could this have possibly accomplished?  And this just ultimately Stokes those with hatred in their hearts.  I just don't understand this at all.

[RealReality10]

2 hours ago, Dee said:

That literally just happened yesterday/today.

The network, actors, showrunner and writers have been advocating for Jussie throughout all phases of this debacle. They aren't all going to cease supporting him simultaneously.

If he made all this up they really shouldn't support him.  

If he made all this up, no way he stays on that show and his career will likely never make a serious comeback.

I don't see how anyone could even really see him as a character again.  You would only see that guy who made up that story about getting attacked and you couldn't lose yourself in the story.  At least I couldnt.  It's like when Tom cruise jumped all over that couch, or that guy who played Kramer yelled all that racist stuff.  Tom Cruise had to take a break and only now is making big box office hits again.  And Kramer's career never came back.  And these were just stars acting weird or poorly....not fabricating a hate crime and then doubling down with Robin Roberts on good morning America

[Dee]

So far all he is being indicted for is filing a false report.

That's likely not enough for Fox to cut him loose just yet, especially since the majority of the story has firmly devolved into he said/she said territory.

Which is essentially how Shonda & ABC handled pretty much all of their bts drama.

[chocolatine]

44 minutes ago, Dee said:

Which is essentially how Shonda & ABC handled pretty much all of their bts drama.

On Grey's Anatomy, Shonda fired Isaiah Washington immediately when he used a homophobic slur against TR Knight.

[WendyCR72]

12 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

On Grey's Anatomy, Shonda fired Isaiah Washington immediately when he used a homophobic slur against TR Knight.

I don't know. Wasn't she trying to play it down until another public event where Isaiah grabbed some microphone and started on the topic again? I seem to recall it like that, but maybe I'm wrong. I think Shonda Rhimes was trying to let it blow over, but between Katherine Heigl and TR Knight speaking out on it and the incident I mentioned, she had no choice but to axe him then... And I think ABC was adamant about it.

[Dee]

Shonda went to bat for a LOT of her actors over the years. After being burned repeatedly by many of them, in various instances, she became more cutthroat as a writer/showrunner.

And she's not alone, Marc Cherry had similar issues with several actors & assorted stories during the run of Desperate Housewives.

So, a first offense is not always an immediate cause for termination.

[Was-MArsenault]

https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/jussie-smollett-empire-1203144602/amp/

[Enero]

3 hours ago, Dee said:

So far all he is being indicted for is filing a false report.

That's likely not enough for Fox to cut him loose just yet, especially since the majority of the story has firmly devolved into he said/she said territory.

Which is essentially how Shonda & ABC handled pretty much all of their bts drama.

As I understand FOX and the producers of Empire were already starting to slowly prepare to back away from this situation. I seem to recall reading earlier in the week on several entertainment sites ie Variety, Deadline etc., that the show is finishing up filming for the season and that his role had been significantly cut for the final episodes. I agree with others. He’ll likely be rarely seen on the show next season and/or eventually phased out. 

Regarding the indictment, this is very disappointing and the last thing this country needs in this very toxic political environment where racism, sexism,  homophobia, etc., is running rampant. Outside of the disappointment my question is why? Why would he do this? 

Edited February 21, 2019 by Enero

[jsbt]

Edited February 21, 2019 by jsbt

[MissScarlett]

I am new to this Empire forum and a huge fan of the show. Jamal is one of my most favorite characters on the show. I am so sad that Jussie felt he needed to do this for whatever reason and like everyone else, the question on my mind is "why"? Was it a political activist move? Did he do it to put himself in the spotlight? 

On one hand i'm mad because it has the potential to cast a shadow on REAL homophobic, racist, and politically motivated hate-attacks. As a country trying to right the wrongs, we don't need that.

Jussie is hugely talented in my opinion and I have followed him and the other members of the Smollett family since Mighty Ducks and On Our Own. This whole thing is so sad and ridiculous.

Edited February 21, 2019 by MissScarlett

[Dee]

Jussie's arrest doesn't really cause problems for victims of racist and homophobic motivated hate crimes.

It will be as difficult for them as it always has been.

[jsbt]

Yeah, no. Agree to disagree.

I believed Jussie Smollett's story wholeheartedly. It echoed the times we live in. It broke my heart. I was a fan. Now all I do is see red when I think about it. It makes my skin crawl. Shit like this will do untold damage to millions of young and old at-risk black and LGBT people (which includes me) for generations. The right wing will dine out on this case for decades to disenfranchise and invalidate countless tragedies and hate crimes. The media, cowed by the right, will refer back to it regularly. It will become a part of our culture like so many other scandals that are used to whatabout and deflect discussion of social justice and racism and homophobia. It will never go away and bigots will always bring it back. For so many people, it will be more difficult than before. And unfortunately, unlike Jussie Smollett 99% of those people won't have the money and resources to put their lives back together again.

He can presumably cop his plea, take what's left of his money and disappear. His work in this life is clearly accomplished.

Edited February 21, 2019 by jsbt

[Dee]

Agree to disagree indeed.

The right wing is gonna act like the right wing has ALWAYS reacted, fake stories or not. Assuming one case is gonna make it worse for others is ridiculous. That's like assuming white, straight and/or cisgendered people would be more sensitive to racist/homophobic/transphobic violence if they viewed it firsthand, which has been disproven time and again,

Which is not an indictment of his alleged actions, which were wrong; but until his motives are known cannot be judged wholesale. That said, those who believed in him have every right to feel angry and betrayed.

However, at the end of the day there was nothing wrong with people believing Jussie's initial story, just as there won't be for people believing other potential survivors in the future. Survivors should be believed and given the benefit of the doubt given the rate of faux situations, such as this one, are relatively small compared to genuine hate crimes themselves.

[jsbt]

12 minutes ago, Dee said:

Assuming one case is gonna make it worse for others is ridiculous.

And yet crap like this (let alone actual victims of assault who were slandered and dragged through the mud instead) has, many times. Scandals like this live forever in the climate we've had since at least the 1990s. I can't shrug off the damage this will do, because it's already begun. Already the alt right is trying to link this back to some nonsensical imaginary conspiracy with Kamala Harris. So we have another two years minimum of that to look forward to.

Quote

However, at the end of the day there was nothing wrong with people believing Jussie's initial story, just as there won't be for people believing other potential survivors in the future. Survivors should be believed and given the benefit of the doubt given the rate of faux situations, such as this one, are relatively small compared to genuine hate crimes themselves.

That's all true. The problem is now they'll be believed a little (or a lot) less.

Quote

until his motives are known cannot be judged wholesale.

His motives are worth absolutely nothing to me. But to each their own.

Edited February 21, 2019 by jsbt

[thebigboot]

11 minutes ago, Dee said:

Agree to disagree indeed.

The right wing is gonna act like the right wing has ALWAYS reacted, fake stories or not. Assuming one case is gonna make it worse for others is ridiculous. That's like assuming white, straight and/or cisgendered people would be more sensitive to racist/homophobic/transphobic violence if they viewed it firsthand, which has been disproven time and again,

Which is not an indictment of his alleged actions, which were wrong; but until his motives are known cannot be judged wholesale. That said, those who believed in him have every right to feel angry and betrayed.

However, at the end of the day there was nothing wrong with people believing Jussie's initial story, just as there won't be for people believing other potential survivors in the future. Survivors should be believed and given the benefit of the doubt given the rate of faux situations, such as this one, are relatively small compared to genuine hate crimes themselves.

There is literally no reason to justify these actions. I have no idea why we need to wait for him to give us his motives. I mean look at NYC right now, Jews have been assaulted frequently, but unlike Jussie Smollett these were caught on camera, but can’t seem to illicit the kind of outrage this case got. He played the media, he knew just what to say and he won that great PR front until his story started changing, until he had to make himself big and brave without cooperating with police. 

[Dee]

Quote

And yet crap like this (let alone actual victims of assault who were slandered and dragged through the mud instead) has, many times. Scandals like this live forever in the climate we've had since at least the 1990s. I can't shrug off the damage this will do, because it's already begun. Already the alt right is trying to link this back to some nonsensical imaginary conspiracy with Kamala Harris. So we have another two years minimum of that to look forward to.

That's all true. The problem is now they'll be believed a little (or a lot) less.

His motives are worth absolutely nothing to me. But to each their own.

Previously TV frowns on discussing politics, so it's best to not veer off topic.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Dee

[Stats Queen]

2 hours ago, Enero said:

Regarding the indictment, this is very disappointing and the last thing this country needs in this very toxic political environment where racism, sexism,  homophobia, etc., is running rampant. Outside of the disappointment my question is why?

Yes this is a very divisive country and a toxic environment. Not just what you said above but also with people judging people they’ve never met based solely upon who they voted for. Making assumptions about people you don’t know is bad for everyone.

Making up crimes and blaming them on Trump voters sure shows a lot of hatred also.

[MissScarlett]

Dee, I see what you are saying here. Things like this should not be taken into consideration when someone else has an attack. However, it seems like it does somewhat. For example, I was on a Reddit forum recently where there was talk of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Men would tell their stories of being wrongfully accused of sexual harassment and rape. Not knowing these men personally, other men chimed in as being sympathetic and wholeheartedly believed that these accused-men were innocent without having both sides of the stories. As a result, their consensus was that they would never hire women because of the potential of being falsely accused of rape and sexual harassment. As if false accusations are the norm. Not even taking into consideration that this stuff DOES happen and happens more often than people want to even admit. #MeToo and #TimesUp just shed light on this and made it feel safer for people to admit.

Jussie's indictment casts a bit of a shadow, even though it shouldn't.

[jsbt]

10 minutes ago, Dee said:

Previously TV frowns on discussing politics, so it's best to not veer off topic.

I'll take the risk.

[Dee]

The rules are the rules. However if CPD's behavior in this case has proven anything, is that there are definitely two sets of rules for everyone.

[Tikichick]

Clearly the brothers have some type of immunity deal in place with Chicago prosecutors, no idea about the federal situation.  Personally I think they're going to pay the piper big time on that part and somehow I would not be surprised to see JS wriggle out of that aspect for the most part.

I've been waiting for the shoe to drop with conspiracy charges coming into play and putting the manager's feet to the fire as well.  It will be interesting if JS' high powered legal muscle can point the blame more directly at the manager and he winds up on the higher hook on this aspect.

Will be interesting to sit back and watch if deeper pockets, celebrity and celebrity voices of support result in JS getting the least punishment out of this gong show. 

[thebigboot]

46 minutes ago, Dee said:

The rules are the rules. However if CPD's behavior in this case has proven anything, is that there are definitely two sets of rules for everyone.

Like how CPD still investigated and worked hard on the case knowing that he’s lied to the police in the past?

[RealReality10]

7 hours ago, Dee said:

So far all he is being indicted for is filing a false report.

That's likely not enough for Fox to cut him loose just yet, especially since the majority of the story has firmly devolved into he said/she said territory.

Which is essentially how Shonda & ABC handled pretty much all of their bts drama.

But filing a false police report is basically saying that be made up the entire story... which if definitely a reason to write him off the show and it should be.

Hate crimes are awful and rampant.  If he wanted to shed light on those issues he could have chosen from dozens of cases of hate crimes and taken that up as a cause.  Making up a hate crime was not only unnecessary, but it absolutely will give people who already want to question victims an easy case to refer back to.  And yeah, those people who want to question victims will always do that, but this high profile case makes it that much easier, especially since he went on good morning America and doubled down.