‘Empire’ Needs To Bring Jussie Smollett Back, Taye Diggs Says

Taye Diggs says that “Empire” should bring Jussie Smollett back for its upcoming sixth season. The actor played the recurring role of Councilman Angelo DuBois in the third season of the Fox musical drama. Smollett played one of the main characters, Jamal Lyon, from the show’s inception in 2015 up until its latest season.

Smollett remains the center of controversy after being involved in a staged “hate crime” early this year. In January, news broke about Smollett being hospitalized after he was supposedly assaulted by Donald Trump supporters in Chicago. The actor told the police that his alleged attackers taunted him about his race and sexual orientation. He said that the two men beat him up and dumped a chemical that smelled like bleach on him.

When the police were unable to find evidence that the crime had occurred, people began to doubt Smollett’s story. Days after the reported incident, he was arrested and charged with filing a false police report. Smollett was later indicted by a grand jury on 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct.

Though all charges against the actor have since been dropped, the public has not been kind to the 37-year-old actor. Aiming to distance the show from the scandal, “Empire” bosses decided to drop Smollett in June.

But Diggs said that his pal deserves to return to “Empire.” In an interview for “Inside The Black Actor’s Studio” with Danny Royce, Diggs said that while he doesn’t condone Smollett’s actions, he still considers the actor a friend and would jump at the opportunity to work with him again.

When asked about the controversy, Diggs said that he feels that the “smart thing” to do would be to bring Smollett back and let the controversy surrounding the actor “interweave into the show.” “I feel like, people — I may get in trouble for saying this, but they're so quick to just leave, to leave these people,” he said. “So quick to fire them, so quick to… throw them away as opposed to, you know, taking their time.”

Diggs suggested that the people behind “Empire” could probably get to the bottom of Smollett’s issues if only they’d let him stick around. He also said that actors no longer get as much support as they once did. “I think it’s fear,” he said.