Empire

Latest Stories

Actor Jussie Smollett tears up while listening to his brother testify at his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Thursday, March 10, 2022, in Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)

Judge sentences Jussie Smollett to jail for faking hate crime

By Don Babwin and Kathleen Foody - Associated Press

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to mark the first-ever federal Maternal Health Day of Action at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex, in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Democrats who fell for Smollett’s hate-crime hoax take drubbing after conviction

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

FILE - In this June 21, 2017, file photo, Bryshere Y. Gray arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of &quot;Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A Bad Boy Story&quot; at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. Gray has been arrested in Arizona on accusations of abusing his wife, police said. The Goodyear Police Department said 26-year-old Gray was booked into jail Saturday, July 11, 2020, KPNX-TV reported. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

‘Empire’ actor arrested in Arizona, accused of abusing wife

Associated Press

FILE - In this May 20, 2016 file photo, actor and singer Jussie Smollett attends the &quot;Empire&quot; FYC Event in Los Angeles. Fox Entertainment chief Charlie Collier says Jussie Smollett won't be back on &quot;Empire.&quot; Collier, speaking to TV critics Wednesday, affirmed series co-creator Lee Daniels' decision to drop Smollett from the drama’s upcoming final season. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Jussie Smollett out for ‘Empire’ final season, Fox says

By Lynn Elber - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 20, 2016 file photo, actor and singer Jussie Smollett attends the &quot;Empire&quot; FYC Event in Los Angeles. Fox Entertainment chief Charlie Collier says Jussie Smollett won't be back on &quot;Empire.&quot; Collier, speaking to TV critics Wednesday, affirmed series co-creator Lee Daniels' decision to drop Smollett from the drama’s upcoming final season. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Fox: Jussie Smollet gone from ‘Empire,’ character lives on

By LYNN ELBER - Associated Press

This March 26, 2019, file photo shows actor Jussie Smollett before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped in Chicago. Fox Entertainment says Smollett will not return to its series “Empire” in the wake of allegations by Chicago officials that the actor lied about a racially motivated attack. The studio released a statement Tuesday, April 30, saying “there are no plans for Smollett’s character of Jamal to return to ‘Empire.’” No reason was given. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty, File)

Jussie Smollett will not return to ‘Empire’ for next season

Associated Press

Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Backlash, questions follow dismissal of Jussie Smollett case

By MICHAEL TARM and AMANDA SEITZ - Associated Press

&quot;Empire&quot; actor Jussie Smollett, center, leaves Cook County jail following his release, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, in Chicago. Smollett was charged with disorderly conduct and filling a false police report when he said he was attacked in downtown Chicago by two men who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs and looped a rope around his neck, a police official said. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Social media provides fuel for Jussie Smollett story

By SHARON COHEN and ALLEN G. BREED - Associated Press

"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett leaves Cook County jail following his release, Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, in Chicago. Smollett was charged with disorderly conduct and filling a false police report when he said he was attacked in downtown Chicago by two men who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs and looped a rope around his neck, a police official said. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Jussie Smollett’s character off ‘Empire’ for end of season

Associated Press

This image released by Fox shows Jussie Smollett, left, and A.Z. Kelsey in a scene from the &quot;Pride&quot; episode of &quot;Empire&quot; which originally aired on Oct. 10, 2018. Smollett’s co-starring role in “Empire” may end up being the pinnacle of his career, industry observers and insiders said as the actor faces criminal charges that he faked a hate crime against himself. (Chuck Hodes/FOX via AP)

If proven, Smollett allegations could be a ‘career killer’

By LYNN ELBER - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 14, 2018 file photo, Jussie Smollett, a cast member in the TV series &quot;Empire,&quot; attends the Fox Networks Group 2018 programming presentation afterparty in New York. A police official says &quot;Empire&quot; actor is now considered a suspect &quot;for filing a false police report&quot; and that detectives are presenting the case against him to a grand jury. Smollett told police he was attacked by two masked men while walking home from a Subway sandwich shop at around 2 a.m. on Jan. 29. He says they beat him, hurled racist and homophobic insults at him and looped a rope around his neck before fleeing. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Prosecutors: Smollett paid brothers $3,500 for staged attack

By JEFF McMURRAY - Associated Press

Supreme Court staying out of actor’s ‘Empire’ lawsuit

Associated Press

Singer Jussie Smollett gestures onstage during his concert at The Troubadour Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019, in West Hollywood, Calif. &quot;Empire&quot; actor and R&amp;B singer Smollett opened the concert with an emotional speech, saying he had to play the show because he couldn’t let his attackers win. The long-planned concert was Smollett’s first public appearance since he reported to police in Chicago Tuesday that two masked men attacked him and put a rope around his neck while using homophobic and racial slurs. (AP Photo/Andrew Dalton)

Jussie Smollett clarifies attack details in first public appearance: ‘I’m the gay Tupac’

By Andrew Dalton - Associated Press

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2017 file photo, Jussie Smollett participates in the &quot;Empire&quot; panel during the FOX Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. Smollett, an actor on the TV series &quot;Empire,&quot; is also an R&amp;B musician who performed Saturday night, Feb. 2, 2019, at a concert in Los Angeles. Smollett, who is openly gay, says two masked men attacked him early Tuesday in Chicago in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

Jussie Smollett strikes emotional chord: Attackers won’t win

By ANDREW DALTON - Associated Press

FILE - In this May 14, 2018 file photo, Jussie Smollett, a cast member in the TV series &quot;Empire,&quot; attends the Fox Networks Group 2018 programming presentation afterparty in New York. Chicago police have opened a hate crime investigation after a man the department identified as a 36-year-old cast member of the television show “Empire” alleged he was physically attacked by men who shouted racial and homophobic slurs. Police wouldn’t release the actor’s name, but a statement from the Fox studio and network on which “Empire” airs identified him Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, as Jussie Smollett.(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

‘Empire’ cast member alleges homophobic attack in Chicago

By DON BABWIN - Associated Press

Actors Donald Glover, from right, Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, director Ron Howard, actors Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, and Joonas Suotamo pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

In ‘Solo,’ a battle for the soul, and tone, of ‘Star Wars’

By JAKE COYLE - Associated Press

Actor-singer Jussie Smollett, from the Fox series, &quot;Empire,&quot; poses for a portrait on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Victoria Will/Invision/AP)

Jussie Smollett finds his voice and builds his own empire

By MESFIN FEKADU - Associated Press

The nation’s only African American piano maker counts fans

By MARCIA DAVIS - Associated Press