Terrence Howard Stands By Jussie Smollett Following Arrest

Terrence Howard is standing by his Empire co-star Jussie Smollett following his arrest last week. Jussie was arrested after reportedly filing a false police report in the alleged hate crime against him.

Though Jussie returned to the set of Empire later in the day, he has been written out of the final two episodes of the season.

And despite the controversy, Terrence just shared a video of Jussie to his Instagram page with the caption, “All your lil homies got you… We love the hell outta you.”

As to be expected, many people criticized Terrance for standing by Jussie amid the drama, but the actor clapped back at the haters in the comments.

“@blshealy sorry you feel that way but that’s the only Jussie that I know. That Jussie that I know could never even conceive of something so unconscious and ugly,” he wrote.

“His innocence or judgement is not for any of us to decide. Stay in your lane and my lane is empathy and love and compassion for something that I’ve called my son for 5 years.”

He continued, “It’s God’s job to judge and it is ours to love and hope, especially for those that we claim to have loved. There’s nothing more harmful than a fake friend. Real talk.”

Meanwhile, Jussie’s lawyers released a statement following his arrest on Thursday, February 21.

“Today we witnessed an organized law enforcement spectacle that has no place in the American legal system. The presumption of innocence, a bedrock in the search for justice, was trampled upon at the expense of Mr. Smollett and notably, on the eve of a Mayoral election,” they said.

“Mr. Smollett is a young man of impeccable character and integrity who fiercely and solemnly maintains his innocence and feels betrayed by a system that apparently wants to skip due process and proceed directly to sentencing.”