Report: Jussie Smollett Loses Major Gig Over Hate Crime Scandal
Jussie Smollett has reportedly lost out on a major career opportunity as a result of his recent alleged hate crime scandal.
According to the Daily Mail, the embattled star was stripped of a starring role in a forthcoming Broadway reboot of the Tony Award-winning play Take Me Out.
The actor was originally cast to play the project's main character, Darren Lemming, an interracial baseball player who comes out as gay at the peak of his career. The site further reports that the role ironically parallels Smollett's life as he also suffers a racial and homophobic attack by a teammate.
Smollett reportedly read for the role just one day prior to his alleged January attack in Chicago. The site reports that the actor and his co-star Zachary Quinto's castings were set to be announced in March 2019. However, "everything shifted" after Smollett was arrested and charged with the suspicion of staging his own attack.
As previously reported, though Smollett's case has since been dropped, the city of Chicago is suing him for $130,000 for "time wasted" on the thorough and lengthy investigation. Though he has allegedly been axed from the Broadway gig, Smollett's biggest money maker is still secure as he is expected to return to his hit Fox series, Empire, for its upcoming season.