Jussie Smollett Still Maintains Innocence, Apologizes To ‘Empire’ Cast And Crew

Jussie Smollett begs his fellow “Empire” cast and crew who he addressed as family for the trouble his case with the police may have cost them. He also denied any involvement in the staged attack case and asked them to believe he is innocent and to continue supporting him.

According to TMZ, sources on the “Empire” set says cast and crew were waiting at least 30 minutes for Jussie to begin the scheduled scene. When he eventually showed his face he was very emotional, and surrounded by his family.

When addressing everyone on set, Jussie said:

“I’m sorry I’ve put you all through this and not answered any calls. I wanted to say I’m sorry and, you know me, I would never do this to any of you, you are my family. I swear to God, I did not do this.”

After that, he left the set. We’re told it was obvious Jussie had been crying a lot, so producers said he would have to come back later. He did, and we’re told he is currently shooting the scene.

As we reported, Smollett bolted from the mob scene outside court, and headed straight to Chicago’s Cinespace Studio after his bail was set at $100k. News reporters and trucks followed him most of the way as he crossed town.

Smolett, three weeks ago, initially told police he was attacked by two masked men as he was walking home from a Subway sandwich shop at around 2 a.m on Jan. 29. The actor, who is black and gay, said the masked men beat him, made derogatory comments and yelled “This is MAGA country” — an apparent reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again” before fleeing.

Chicago Police department working in tandem with the FBI, after three weeks of investigation, arrested Smolett on Thursday morning, saying the actor orchestrated his own hate crime so as to get a pay raise from the producers of the hit TV show, Empire, as he felt he wasn’t getting paid well.