Tearful Jussie Smollett Apologizes To Empire Cast But Insists He Never Did It

A tearful Jussie Smollett apologized to fellow cast and crew members before filming continued Thursday on the set of “Empire” in Chicago.

Citing “sources on the ‘Empire’ set,” celebrity-news site TMZ said that the crew was kept waiting 30 minutes for Mr. Smollett to return from his arrest and processing on charges of faking a hate-crime and blaming President Trump’s supporters.

He gave a short address to everyone on set in which he also maintained his innocence.

“I’m sorry I’ve put you all through this and not answered any calls. I wanted to say I’m sorry and, you know me, I would never do this to any of you, you are my family. I swear to God, I did not do this,” Mr. Smollett said, according to TMZ.

He then left the set and, TMZ reported, “it was obvious Jussie had been crying a lot,” which further delayed filming.

Producers had to ask him to come back later, and he was able to do so, TMZ said.