Twitter erupts over Jussie Smollett’s return to ‘Empire’

“Empire” returned with Jussie Smollett for its midseason premiere on Wednesday, and fans went wild over his onscreen persona dealing with public drama as the actor in real life faces 16 felony counts for his alleged hate crime hoax.
On the episode, Smollett’s character, Jamal, had to end his engagement when his fiancé, Kai, couldn’t agree with his family’s illegal actions. Eventually, Jamal’s family became involved in some high-profile drama, which he had to address.
“I don’t know if y’all been reading the blogs and all the foolishness, but it’s kinda been a tough week,” Jamal said.
Twitter couldn’t get enough of the irony.
“LeeDaniels is a psychic,” one fan tweeted about “Empire’s” creator.
“Jussie Smollett watching #Empire right now,” tweeted another, who included a gif of Anthony Anderson crying.
However, some viewers were uncomfortable watching Smollett on their TVs, even though the episode had been filmed a while ago.
“I’m sorry it’s so hard for me to look at jussie without wanting to slap the s–t outta him #Empire,” a viewer tweeted.
“I’m just ready to see them write off Jamal #Empire,” a fan tweeted, alongside a gif of a woman giving a glare.
“‘it’s been a tough week’ …hahaha more like a month so far, Jussie #Empire,” another wrote.
Smollett, 36, is appearing in court Thursday over allegations he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself.