Terrence Howard Expresses Support for Jussie Smollett After Felony Charge: 'We Love the Hell Outta You'
Terrence Howard has Jussie Smollett's back.
Days after Smollett was arrested on a felony disorderly conduct charge for allegedly filing a false police report, and then dropped from the final two episodes of Empire's season, Howard took to Instagram to express his support to his onscreen son.
"All your lil homies got you... We love the hell outta you ♥️," Howard, who plays Lucious Lyon on the Fox series, wrote on Saturday. The video featured Smollett playing with the actor's son, Hero, while on a private plane.
"He's such a sweet baby," Smollett can be heard saying in the clip as the little one cozies up to him.
All your lil homies got you... We love the hell outta you ♥️.
A post shared by Terrence Dashon Howard (@theterrencehoward) on Feb 23, 2019 at 4:44pm PST
Taye Diggs appeared to support Howard's post, leaving the comment, "Atta boy!" Gabourey Sidibe also left three red hearts.
On Friday, the executive producers of the Fox show released a new statement explaining their rationale for removing Smollett's role of Jamal from the remainder of the season. The statement comes one day after the actor turned himself in to authorities following his felony charge for disorderly conduct, for allegedly filing a false police report in which he claimed he was the victim of a hate crime on Jan. 29. He maintains his innocence.
"The events of the past few weeks have been incredibly emotional for all of us. Jussie has been an important member of our Empire family for the past five years and we care about him deeply," the statement reads. "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 Jamal from the final two episodes of the season,” the statement adds.
As ET previously reported, Smollett surrendered on Thursday. For allegedly filing a false police report, and if convicted, he faces up to three years in prison.
"Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked," Smollett's lawyers, Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson, told ET. "Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense."
For more on Smollett's case, watch below.
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