Empire

Jussie Smollett might have secured his return to "Empire" -- despite ongoing controversy over the alleged Chicago "attack" -- when he kicked it in NYC with a pretty powerful show exec.

TMZ got this video of the actor leaving lunch at a Lafayette restaurant Wednesday, and he told us he was feeling "pride" about his work on the show. Turns out, he may have been feeling optimistic as well ... because the guy he was lunching with was showrunner Brett Mahoney.

Sources close to Mahoney -- who's publicly voiced his support for Jussie in the past -- tell us the lunch Wednesday was a casual hangout, and not the first time the 2 have seen each other since Jussie wrapped on "Empire" amid his scandal.

We're told Brett's been telling his friends Jussie's future on the show is still up in the air, but it's unclear if the topic was broached during their lunch.

You'll recall, earlier this week, "Empire" creator and executive producer Lee Daniels said the same -- that they're currently considering bringing Jussie back.

Now, let's connect the dots ... seems unlikely that Mahoney would break bread with Jussie if he thought they were about to 86 him from the show.

Another strong sign for Jussie ... the letter his costars Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard wrote imploring network execs to let Jussie stay on the show. They said he's innocent and "filled with integrity" and they want to "put this behind us and move forward.”

The NY Post first reported Mahoney was lunching with Jussie. We'll see how it plays out, but that meal might end up being the crucial moment "Empire" and its star smoothed things out.

Jussie Smollett's last episode ever of "Empire" could be running Wednesday night ... and a few hours before it aired, he told us he only has one word on his mind.

We got the embattled actor leaving Lafayette restaurant in NYC, and the paps asked him how he feels about his final episode of this season. There are 2 more to go, but we already know Jussie won't be in them.

Make no mistake ... Jussie's future with the show is completely up in the air. On Tuesday, creator and executive producer Lee Daniels made it clear they're still debating whether to bring him back next season. Jussie seemed totally unshaken when we asked him about it.

As we first reported ... Jussie was written off the final 2 episodes on the heels of his arrest and felony charges of disorderly conduct for lying to cops. As it stands now, "Empire" hasn't been officially green lit for season 6, but assuming it will be ... there's no guarantee he'll be part of it.

As it turns out, Jussie's co-stars, Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard, came out swinging for him ... firing off a letter to the show's honchos ... demanding he remain on the show. The letter, posted by Deadline, read, "Together, as a united front, we stand with Jussie Smollett and ask that our co-star, brother and friend be brought back for our sixth season of Empire."

It goes on to say, "He is also innocent and no longer subject to legal uncertainty with the criminal charges against him having been dropped. We are confident in his lawyer’s assurance that the case was dismissed because it would not have prevailed.”

Chicago is not so sure -- and, the fact is, Jussie's still facing a civil trial where the city will try to show he did lie.

A lot of balls up in the air.

Lee Daniels says there's an important discussion going down right now ... whether Jussie Smollett will be cut from "Empire."

The "Empire" creator was out and about Tuesday in New York City when Adam Glyn asked about the next season of the show, and whether there's a place for Jussie. Here's what's clear ... there's no clear answer for Daniels and Co.

Also, BTW, there's no clear answer on whether the show is coming back, because Season 6 has not been greenlit ... but we're guessing it will be a go.

11:05 AM PT -- Mark and Tina tell TMZ, "At first we thought this comical legal document was a parody. Instead, this so-called lawsuit by the brothers is more of their lawyer driven nonsense, and a desperate attempt for them to stay relevant and further profit from an attack they admit they perpetrated."

They continue, "While we know this ridiculous lawsuit will soon be dismissed because it lacks any legal footing, we look forward to exposing the fraud the Osundairo brothers and their attorneys have committed on the public."

9:43 AM PT -- Ola was out and about Monday afternoon in Chicago ... looking carefree a day before he his brother, Abel, filed a lawsuit in federal court. Ola's asked if he thinks Jussie owes the City of Chicago an apology. He seems more psyched hanging out with his boy and their exotic pets.

8:35 AM PT -- The presser just ended and NOBODY asked why Abel and Ola are NOT suing Jussie. The brothers' attorney, Gloria Schmidt, read a statement on behalf of the brothers ... saying they can no longer sit back and watch lie after lie being fabricated about them.

7:45 AM PT -- The brothers' attorneys are holding a news conference in Chicago, and we'll be live streaming. The big question, of course ... WHY didn't Abel and Ola sue Jussie Smollett???

The 2 brothers who allegedly faked the Jussie Smollett attack are suing the actor's lawyers, Mark Geragos and Tina Glandian, for defamation, claiming the attorneys lied to the media and tried to make it appear Ola and Abel Osundairo were the culprits in a real, homophobic and racist attack.

The brothers filed the case in Chicago federal court, claiming Jussie "used his clout as a wealthy actor to influence [the brothers] who were in a subordinate relationship to him and were aspiring to 'make it.'"

The suit says when Tina Glandian went on 'GMA,' "Today" and the Reasonable Doubt podcast after the charges against Jussie were dismissed, she told a string of lies ... including the brothers wore whiteface during the attack and the brothers were involved in an illegal Nigerian steroid trafficking ring.

The lawsuit also claims Glandian falsely claimed one of the brothers "engaged in fornication with Mr. Smollett."

As for Geragos, the suit claims he "repeatedly indicated that plaintiffs conspired to criminally attack Mr. Smollett, and by doing so, implied plaintiffs committed perjury" to the Grand Jury and conspired to make false statements to the Chicago PD.

The suit doubles down and says the brothers never knew Jussie would go to the cops ... rather, he was staging the "attack" for social media.

The brothers say as a result of the alleged defamation they suffered extreme emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety, damages to their reputation, and damages to current and prospective business relations.

As we reported, Ola and Abel have had a tough time finding work, both as actors and personal trainers, in the wake of the scandal.

One final thing ... it's interesting the brothers did not sue Jussie, who also claimed they were the culprits in the alleged racist and homophobic attack.

Jussie Smollett is the victim of an out of control media and social media storm and the "Empire" star is suffering profound emotional issues from simply telling the truth about the "attack" ... so says his brother.

Jojo Smollett says Jussie is "violently awakening from night terrors, following the assault" ... so he says in an op-ed piece for BET.

Jojo calls claims that Jussie staged the attack "ludicrous," adding he has been insanely successful and didn't need a phony reason to boost his career opportunities or salary.

Jussie's brother says there are plenty of people who support the actor and the problem lies with the "bandwagoning and tyranny of the 'perceived' majority."

Jojo says Jussie didn't even want to contact the police following the incident in Chicago and says it was his choreographer who insisted he do so and it was actually the choreographer who called the cops.

11:34 AM PT -- Michael Avenatti has waded into the Jussie Smollett drama down in Chicago, saying he almost got directly involved when the case was at its peak in February. Avenatti explains -- in a statement he posted and then deleted from Twitter -- that counsel for the Osundairo brothers reached out to him to see if he could potentially help 'em out.

Avenatti says he ultimately declined, but along the way ... he says he reached out to Kim Foxx to give her a heads-up about his possible involvement as a courtesy. He insists there's nothing improper about this, as he claims it's routine.

There's more -- Avenatti goes on to slam R. Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg, saying SG is trying to muck up the Kelly case by personally attacking Avenatti over his own legal woes. What's more, Avenatti says Greenberg is "attempting to create a smokescreen to distract away from the mountain of evidence" Avenatti claims the Cook County State Attorney has against the singer to prove he abused underage girls.

Avenatti says the evidence will speak for itself, adding that he hopes Kim Foxx and co. will bring justice to Kelly's alleged victims. He goes further in praising her, saying she and her staff are "extremely professional, unbiased and focused on the delivery of justice."

It's almost a word-for-word counter to Greenberg's claim that Foxx's office is barely functioning in chaos in the ongoing fallout of the since-dismissed Jussie case.

R. Kelly's legal team thinks Kim Foxx calling the singer a "pedophile" before he's even been given a fair trial is a clear look into how her office is run ... totally dysfunctional.

Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg, tells TMZ ... Foxx's texts to a fellow staffer -- in which she implicitly referred to his client as a pedo in comparing his case to Jussie Smollett's -- was outrageous, considering Kelly hasn't been convicted of any such crime.

Greenberg says Foxx is letting her personal biases color the way she characterizes Kelly's case -- which she implied was a way bigger deal than Jussie's in her correspondence that was made public Tuesday.

As we reported ... Foxx called Jussie a "washed up celeb" who'd been slapped with 16 felony counts, while going on to indirectly compare that to R. Kelly only getting charged with 10 counts ... saying there was a discrepancy there as far as priorities go.

Of course, her office ultimately dropped all the charges against Jussie.

Greenberg tells us that the fact that Foxx is even having these types of conversations with her staff in this manner paints a larger picture about the Cook County State Attorney's Office ... he calls it "dysfunctional and chaotic." He also thinks Foxx lacks objectivity.

That said, Greenberg says he isn't calling for Foxx to be removed from the Kelly case just yet. He tells us there's evidence and discovery he wants to get his hands on first before doing anything.

Greenberg adds ... once he and his team get everything they need, they'll make a decision on what to ask as far as Foxx's involvement is concerned.

Jussie Smollett has just been hammered with a lawsuit the City of Chicago promised ... and he may effectively go on trial for allegedly staging the "attack" in January. All told, the City wants what will almost certainly be upwards of a half a million dollars.

The lawsuit -- to recover the costs of investigating the case -- outlines what the City claims Jussie did. It says Jussie and Abel Osundairo had been friends since 2017 -- socializing and exercising together. It says Abel assisted Jussie in obtaining recreational drugs.

The lawsuit claims Jussie told Abel shortly before the "attack," "Might need your help on the low."

The lawsuit claims, as we reported, Jussie scoped out the location for the "attack" with Abel and Ola 2 days before the attack and a dry run the day before. They agreed Abel would attack Jussie but would not hurt him too badly and would give Jussie a chance to appear to fight back.

The suit claims they also scripted the entire attack ... starting with the brothers calling Jussie "Empire f***** Empire n*****" -- referring to the homophobic and racist slurs.

They discussed the brothers placing a rope around Jussie's neck and pouring a liquid on him.

The brothers were also instructed not to bring their cellphones -- presumably, so they couldn't be tracked.

The suit says Jussie intentionally misled officers into believing his attackers were white, when he knew otherwise.

As we reported ... the city threatened to sue Jussie if he didn't fork over $130k to cover the cost of investigating a case it says was faked by the "Empire" star. The City of Chicago fired off a letter to Jussie's people earlier this month ... but his camp told the City to go pound sand.

The City says the cost of investigating the case was at least $130,000 in overtime alone, but it wants hundreds of thousands of dollars on top of that to cover attorneys fees and additional expenses. And then the City wants the judge to multiply that times 3, to punish Jussie.

Jussie Smollett is living it up on the beach in Hawaii like a guy with no problems at all -- not at all like a guy who's staring down an impending legal battle with the City of Chicago that could cost him dearly.

The "Empire" star is on vacay right now with his family, laughing it up and catching some rays in paradise. Dude's even going boogie boarding!

It's about as far away from Chicago as he could be, mentally, anyway. The other shoe could drop any day now ... remember, the City of Chicago says it's about to slap him with a civil lawsuit to recover the $130k cost of investigating the alleged homophobic and racist attack.

For now ... Jussie and his fam are snacking, catching waves and having a blast.

We got Jussie over the weekend in Woodland Hills where he was mum about the suit. His lawyer, Mark Geragos, insists Chicago is maliciously defaming his client, hinting the actor might file a lawsuit of his own.

Jussie Smollett is trying to return to normalcy as best he can after a whirlwind saga in Chicago ... and that includes mundane tasks like taking trips to the post office.

We got photos of Jussie hitting up a post office in Van Nuys this week ... and you can see just how average his life is becoming.

Folks who were there tell us Jussie was determined to keep a low profile ... he had a woman stand in the passport line for him for over an hour, saving his spot before it was his turn at the counter. Then it was time to sit down with a postal employee.

It's interesting ... when he was arrested February 21 and charged with 16 felonies, he was required to surrender his passport.

It's one of the first times we've seen Jussie in public since the embattled "Empire" actor landed at LAX ahead of the NAACP Awards, where he was the butt of a ton of Chris Rock jokes even though he didn't show. He popped up in the San Fernando Valley this week too, but was quiet as a mouse.

Even though Jussie is trying to get back to normal, he's about to get sued by the city of Chicago for the cost of investigating the "attack."

Jussie Smollett was a man of no words as he left an office building Friday in the San Fernando Valley.

Jussie was leaving the Warner Center in Woodland Hills in the PM when he was asked about the civil lawsuit the City of Chicago intends to file against him to recover the $130k cost of investigating the alleged attack.

The Empire actor's lawyer, Mark Geragos, went on and on how the City was maliciously defaming his client, suggesting they would file a lawsuit of their own, but Jussie was mum.

Jussie's in a box on this one ... he has been so strong proclaiming his innocence, settling with the City for ANY amount would be off script, despite the fact a settlement is often made to minimize the enormous costs of trial.

Jussie Smollett's lawyer says the actor will not be intimidated by the City of Chicago's latest move -- to recover $130k in investigative costs -- hinting he might sue the City for defamation.

Jussie's lawyer, Mark Geragos, fired off an angry letter to the city, saying Jussie "will not be intimated," calling the claim his client faked the "attack" "false and defamatory."

As we reported, the City is preparing a civil lawsuit to recover the $130k it spent in investigating Jussie's claim that he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack. The lawsuit is significant, because it effectively puts Jussie on trial and the standard of proof is much lower than a criminal case.

Geragos says the attack was real, and points to the Osundairo brothers as the culprits.

And, Geragos is quick to point out, the State's Attorney dropped all 16 felony charges against his client.

He then threatens that he will grill Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson like cheeseburgers in depositions if the City goes through with the lawsuit. Both men were extremely critical of State's Attorney Kim Foxx for dropping the charges, saying Jussie did indeed fake the attack.

Jussie Smollett ain't out of a job in Hollywood ... at least according to Taraji P. Henson who says the embattled actor is slated to return to "Empire" ... assuming it officially gets greenlit for season 6.

Taraji dropped the news Thursday after Joy Behar straight-up asked on "The View" if Jussie's gonna be on the show -- currently in hiatus -- next season. Taraji didn't beat around the bush saying, "Yes. I haven't heard anything else." There is, of course, wiggle room here -- she may not be looped in.

The fifth season of "Empire" wrapped up last week but there's been no official word on whether season 6 is a go ... but Taraji made it sound as if it's all but official.

Check out the vid ... Taraji's also asked if she still talks to Jussie. Her answer might surprise you. Or not.

As you know ... prosecutors dropped Jussie's case but he's still in the city of Chicago's crosshairs.

It's officially open season on Jussie Smollett ... and Tracy Morgan is picking up where Chris Rock left off -- ripping the "Empire" star for a barely believable story about the alleged racist attack.

Tracy opened a fresh can of Jussie jokes ... saying he knew it was BS all along because "racist people don't be jumping nobody in a polar vortex." As he put it during his "Tonight Show" appearance ... there's no need to freeze your ass off when you can be racist in the spring!!!

He's also got beef with Smollett's Subway sandwich ... watch for his punchline.

The bust-on-Jussie train started rolling down the tracks Saturday night at the NAACP Image Awards, where Rock unloaded with the simple line ... "What a waste of light skin!!! You know what I could do with that light skin? I'd be f**king running Hollywood!"

Smollett walked on the 16 felony counts, but it's obvious comedians ain't gonna be as kind as Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx.

Jussie Smollett getting off scot-free is bad news for R. Kelly, because prosecutors might be itching for a big win ... so worries the singer's lawyer.

Steven Greenberg tells TMZ ... the outcome of Jussie's criminal case in Cook County -- in which all 16 felony charges against him were dropped by the State's Attorney -- might be damaging for Kelly ... especially when it comes to a possible plea bargain.

He says, "I think it makes it more difficult for a friendly disposition because they’re going to be extremely reluctant to admit they brought these cases with scant evidence or that there are any other problems."

Greenberg adds State's Attorney Kim Foxx and her team may now view Kelly's case as a chance to redeem themselves after taking such intense heat from the City of Chicago and for that matter the nation for their decision to cut the actor loose.

It's worth noting -- Foxx seemed much more committed to prosecuting Kelly than Smollett. Remember, she held a news conference in early January before charges were filed, urging victims to come forward. By contrast, Foxx recused herself from Jussie's case after she'd admitted to communicating with Smollett's family.

Greenberg concedes there's no way Foxx will recuse herself in the R. Kelly case because there were no equivalent communications ... at least as far as the lawyer knows.

Kelly's facing more serious charges than Smollett -- he's been hit with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. All are class 2 felonies which carry a max sentence of 3 to 7 years in prison for each offense.

Chris Rock defied producers Saturday night at the 50th NAACP Image Awards -- because he had to -- and ripped Jussie Smollett.

Jussie was a no show, despite being nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a drama series for his work on "Empire." He had flown to L.A. and we're told he planned to attend but ultimately decided to bail.

Rock opened with this ... "They said no Jussie Smollett jokes ... I know. What a waste of light skin. You know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair? My career would be outta here! I'd be f*cking running Hollywood!"

But, there was more ... "What the hell was he thinking? You're 'Jessie' from now on, you don't get the 'u' no more. That 'u' was respect, you ain't getting no respect from me."

The crowd loved it, especially Trevor Noah, who laughed hysterically.

Jussie did have some support. When "Black-ish" won Outstanding Comedy Series, Yara Shahidi told the crowd, "I stand with Jussie."

The Jussie Smollett saga might be over for the Osundairo brothers -- but they're just getting started on their fitness business ... which is apparently skyrocketing.

Sources close to Abel and Ola tell TMZ ... the brothers' training regiment is a hot commodity in the wake of the Jussie scandal, which ended with the actor getting off scot-free this week. We're told hundreds of people have been hitting them up for training and diet plans.

Ironic, really, considering that's exactly what they were doing for Jussie before things went awry.

Business must actually be doing pretty well considering they're now advertising a new "Team Abel" fitness package on their social media pages. The basic purchase will run ya $30 for a workout plan -- does NOT include personal training. The premium plan will cost folks just $20 more ... and it gets you a lot, including a diet program, strength training, power training, shred training and a 4-week meal plan.

No word on whether personal training costs $3,500 ...

Getting on-board could be worth your while -- in case you haven't noticed, these dudes are completely shredded (and athletic). So, obviously, they know a thing or two when it comes to fitness.

The bigger -- and unanswered -- question more people probably care about at this point, though, is whether they'll break their silence on how the Jussie case shook out in Chi-town.

We're told they will speak on it in the near future ... but no word on an exact date yet, or if there's a price tag attached.

Stay tuned ...