Actor Jussie Smollet will not return for the sixth season of the popular television series "Empire," the show's co-creator Lee Daniels said Tuesday.
In a tweet, Daniels refuted a report in Variety that revealed "Empire" writers were preparing for Smollett's character to make a return.
"This is not factual. Jussie will NOT be returning to Empire," Daniels tweeted.
Smollett, 36, told Chicago police in January that two men beat him, placed a rope around his neck, and yelled racial and homophobic slurs at him while shouting "This is MAGA country!"
After his claims began to fall apart, he was indicted for lying to police – but charges were dropped in March.