Jussie Smollett not returning to 'Empire' for season 6

Lee Daniels, co-creator of the series 'Empire' has confirmed that Jussie Smollett will not be making a comeback for his role as Jamal Lyon in the sixth season of the show.

Daniels confirmed the same in a tweet made as a response to a report claiming that the 'Empire' writers were preparing for Smollett's return on the show, The Hollywood Reporter learned.

Earlier in March, Daniels expressed his views on Smollett leaving the show in a video posted online. He spoke about the 'pain and anger' he has been feeling from the moment Smollett was accused of orchestrating a hate crime.

The actor is facing a backlash for a lawsuit filed against him. The suit comes after he was charged with 16 felony counts for orchestrating an attack on himself in January.

However, the charges were dropped as he forfeited USD 10,000 and agreed to do some community service.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson criticised the dropping of charges.

Later, Jussie was sued by the city of Chicago for USD 130,000 in order to recover the costs incurred during his investigations.