On Wednesday night’s Empire, Jussie Smollett made his first return to the screen since his arrest in February. Empire fans have been anticipating Smollett’s return to the show as the star faces legal trouble for allegedly hiring two brothers to stage a hate crime against him. Last week, he was indicted on 16 felony counts by a grand jury after being charged with felony disorderly conduct for making a false report of a hate crime in January. Smollett’s legal team called the indictment “prosecutorial overkill” and “vindictive.”
It was recently revealed that Smollett’s role will be written out of the show’s final two episodes. Knowing Smollett’s Empire days are numbered, Twitter exploded with fan reactions to his return to TV.
“Me watching #empire to see if Jamal going to jail like Jussie”
“Looking at Jamal in every scene like #Empire”
While Smollett maintains his innocence, it looks like fans aren’t so convinced. Still, some viewers don’t think the show will be the same without him.
“Still love Jussie Empire wouldn’t be the same without him #Empire”
“Can not lie @JussieSmollett belongs on @EmpireFOX Let’s be honest! No one can fill his shoes.#empire”
Fans may not agree about Smollett’s future on the show, but many can’t wait to see how the writers will handle getting rid of one of the show’s biggest characters. They’ll have to stay tuned to find out.
