Jussie Smollett‘s on-camera family is continuing to both heal and process in the wake of his scandal.
“The cast is upset. It is a sad time and we are slowly healing,”Empirecreator Lee DanielstoldExtraon Tuesday, nearly one month after charges against the actor were dropped after he allegedly staged a hate crime.
While Daniels, 59, said that “the lesson is still to be learned” from the incident, he said that he is choosing not to judge Smollett.
“What I am learning right now is that I can’t judge. That that judgement is for that man wearing that black coat with a gavel and God. I can only support him because he is like my son, he is my son, so I am with him,” said Daniels.
Added Daniels. “I can only support him and I can only give him compassion.”
Paul Archuleta/Getty Images; Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images
Smollett, 36, was arrested Feb. 20 after an investigation, and indicted on16 counts of disorderly conduct for making false reports.
Police previously accused the starof paying $3,500to stage a “bogus” attack on himself because he was unhappy with hisEmpiresalary, though a source denied any dissatisfaction with money to PEOPLE.
In late March, all charges weredroppedagainst the star. He thenspoke outand insisted that he has been telling the truth about the attack since the very beginning. “I’ve been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one,” he told reporters at the Cook County courthouse in Chicago. “I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of doing what I was accused of.”
If Smollett had been tried and found guilty of falsifying a police report, the Class 4 felony carried a potential sentence of up to three years in prison.
Smollett’s attorney did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
source: people.com
