"The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us. <person>Jussie</person> has been an important member of our Empire family for the past five years and we care about him deeply. While these allegations are very disturbing, we are placing our trust in the legal system as the process plays out. We are also aware of the effects of this process on the cast and crew members who work on our show and to avoid further disruption on set, we have decided to remove the role of <person>Jamal</person> from the final two episodes of the season," the joint statement reads.
This update comes a day after <person>Smollett</person> entered a not guilty plea to felony charges for allegedly staging an attack. He returned to the Chicago set of the show after appearing in court Thursday, and insisted to his castmates that he didn't make up the story, a source familiar with the meeting told ABC News.
The actor also filmed scenes for the show on Thursday, according to the source, but the news that producers will not be including his character in the season's final two episodes suggests that any scenes he did film may not be used.
A source close to <person>Smollett</person> told ABC News that the actor was told that the decision to write him off of the season's final two episodes came out of safety concerns amid the heightened attention surrounding <person>Smollett</person>. He was reportedly told that he is not being fired, the source said.