Empire co-creator Lee Daniels says he’s ‘beyond embarrassed’ over Jussie Smollett hate crime scandal

Empire co-creator Lee Daniels shared that he still had conflicted feelings over Jussie Smollett’s alleged hate crime scandal but asserted that he was ‘beyond embarrassed.’ 

The director spoke candidly with Vulture when he made the statements, sharing that he thought of his own experiences getting bullied during his childhood. 

‘I’m beyond embarrassed,’ he said. ‘I think that when it happened, I had a flash of me running from bullies. I had a flash of my whole life, of my childhood, my youth, getting beaten.’ 

The 59-year-old Philadelphia native shared that the entire ordeal came out of the ‘Blue. Blue,’ but added that he would only feel betrayal if the actor ‘turned out’ to have staged the crime he said occurred back in January. 

Smollett claimed then that two men attacked him as he was walking back to his apartment, beating him while shouting homophobic and racial slurs at him.  

‘Of course, there’s some doubt. I’m telling you that because I love him so much,’ Daniels continued. ‘That’s the torture that I’m in right now, because it’s literally if it were to happen to your son and your child, how would you feel? You would feel, “Please, God, please let there be that glimmer of hope that there is some truth in this story.” That’s why it’s been so painful. It was a flood of pain.’ 

The 59-year-old Philadelphia native shared that the entire ordeal came out of the ‘Blue. Blue,’ but added that he would only feel betrayal if the actor ‘turned out’ to have staged the crime he said occurred back in January. Smollett is pictured above

The writer asserted that he couldn’t judge the embattled actor because ‘we weren’t there.’

He said: ‘That’s only for the f*****g lady or man with that black robe and God. I had to detach myself and stop calling him, because it was taking away the time I have for my kids, the time I have for my partner. 

‘It was affecting my spirit and other shows, everything.’

The writer asserted that he couldn’t judge the embattled actor because ‘we weren’t there.’ Police accused Smollett of making up the hate crime story and subsequently charged him in February for filing a false police report, in which he was alleged to have paid two brothers to stage the fake hate crime

But Daniels did speculate that Smollett would be the next ‘Martin Luther King’ type of figure had the attack allegations were true. 

Smollett maintained his innocence and eventually prosecutors dismissed all criminal charges against him in March.

Police accused Smollett of making up the hate crime story and subsequently charged him in February for filing a false police report, in which he was alleged to have paid two brothers to stage the fake hate crime.

He maintained his innocence and eventually prosecutors dismissed all criminal charges against him in March.

However, the city of Chicago has filed a lawsuit against him seeking to recoup the cost of the police investigation.

In March, the FBI announced that it would investigate as to why those felony charges were dismissed.

As a result of the scandal, Smollett was removed from the last two episodes of Empire’s fifth season following his arrest.

Despite the charges being dropped, Smollett’s character, Jamal Lyon, was written out of the sixth and final season, although he will be paid for the season.

Despite the charges being dropped, Smollett’s (center) character, Jamal Lyon, was written out of the sixth and final season, although he will be paid for the season