The case against Jussie Smollett may have concluded, but his legal issues are far from over. The former Empire star continues to be at the center of an alleged staged attack against him at the top of 2019, and while he has already been found guilty of five counts related to orchestrating what authorities have called a hoax, Smollett and his loved ones have fiercely maintained his innocence.
Lee Daniels created Empire and worked closely with Smollett, a person that Daniels has openly stated he considers to be like family. Daniels has answered questions about his views on Smollett’s case in the past, but recently, he sat down for an intimate interview with Ts Madison where he spoke about his current feelings about the case.
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Madison asked if Daniels was “mad” at Smollett. “I was. I was. I was confused,” said Daniels.
Ts Madison then asked “what happened,” but the filmmaker couldn’t offer any answers. “You tell me! When I tell you… Jussie said it didn’t happen and so I have to believe him because he says it didn’t happen. So, I have to believe him, that he believes that it didn’t happen. I have to believe him because that’s the boy I cast and that’s the boy that I love and he was me.”
“Listen, this is too painful to talk about. It’s too upsetting,” said Daniels quietly. When Madison asked if he ever cried about the situation, Daniels quickly answered, “Like a b*tch.”
Check out the clip of the interview below.
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